11 Can’t-Miss Spring Festivals at U.S. Beach Destinations This April and May

If you live in a snowy, northern locale like me, then you’re probably just about now getting into the time of year when you’re finally fed up with all the snow and ice. Sure, the gently falling snow was charming for a while. It felt cheery and fun over the holidays. You embraced sweater and soup season, and all the coziness that comes with it.

Now, though, you’re through with all that. I’m through. Give me sunshine and barbecues, beach days and picnics. I’ll even take the lawn work! All this to say, as spring finally, finally arrives, it’s time to celebrate—and what better way to kick off the season of outdoor fun than with a full-on fair or festival?

Who doesn’t love a good festival? No matter what the festival actually celebrates, you can typically expect some amazing food, live music, some local shopping, and a community vibe that brings a smile to your face.

Luckily, you don’t have to look hard or far to find a fest this April or May that takes place in a favorite beachy destination. Here are some top favorites to consider.

First up, if you think of yourself a foodie or oenophile, make tracks for Panama City Beach in Florida soon for the UNwineD food and drinks festival. The highlight of the event is on Saturday afternoon: The Grand Afternoon Tasting allows attendees to visit beer, wine, and spirits booths, sampling as they go, while also snacking on chef-created bites.

There are also wine seminars and cooking demos, and a vendor area with local purveyors. The event is put on in partnership with Southern Living, so the company will have its own tent on-site, too, as well as will be hosting a kick-off party the night before.

Tickets for the Grand Afternoon Tasting start at $85.

The Old Florida Celebration of the Arts is known as one of the best small-town art fairs in the country, thanks in part to its juried format. Not just any artist is invited or allowed to attend. Artists are limited to a hundred participants each year, ensuring that visitors and art-shoppers can expect high-caliber works across a range of mediums.

Today, the event attracts approximately 15,000 people every spring—and entrance is totally free.

Make sure to stick around in the area longer to further explore this small Gulf destination, too. It’s well known for its natural beauty, seafood, and history.

Hawaiians are serious about their SPAM, and give the canned food a lot of love—something that you’ll quickly notice throughout the state’s food culture when you visit. If you, too, share a love for this American eat, you’ll want to visit Waikiki during the annual SPAM Jam.

The event technically lasts from mid-April to early May, with restaurants throughout Waikiki offering SPAM specials for a few weeks. However, the big event is the block party on Saturday, April 25, wherein travelers take to the streets to browse the retailer booths, check out the live entertainment, and grab some bites and drinks from 30 different food and beverage vendors. The block party wraps up with a drone show.

Another food-focused event, and now in its 13th year, the South Walton Beaches Wine & Food Festival brings together all things wine, food, and culinary celebs. Over the event’s four days, you can get your hands on samples of more than 600 wines, beers, and spirits. Activations, tastings, special meals, cocktail competitions, and more are all on the roster.

You have several different ticket options for this festival. You can purchase tickets for the Saturday and/or Sunday Grand Tastings. You can purchase tickets to attend just Thursday or Friday’s events (Thursday’s focus is on wine, while Friday’s focus is beer and spirits). You can also purchase a VIP 3-day package that starts at $477 (which isn’t actually all that bad when you look at the price tags for some other food fests’ VIP tickets).

Later on in April, head to the island of Nantucket as it celebrates the big milestone 50th anniversary of its Daffodil Festival. 

There’s a big lineup of events going on: the daffodil flower show (in fact, it was this show that gave the overall festival its start, with the first Nantucket daffodil show occurring in 1975, welcoming 250 entries under 9 classifications of blooms), a vintage car parade, dog parade, kids’ activities, art shows, tours, lectures, and more. 

Every single event and moment throughout carries the bright and cheery spirit of the fest’s namesake flower.

Ongoing for nearly three decades, the Key West Songwriters Festival is the largest such fest in not just the United States, but on the planet. 

Dozens of songwriters from around the US—many with a focus on country music—flock to the Keys to take to the stage for eager fans who’re lucky enough to watch, in some cases, performers who will go on to become world-famous. (For example, past performers who played the festival before hitting it big include Florida Georgia Line and Kacey Musgraves.)

You can purchase tickets for individual shows occurring throughout the festival, or you can purchase a Platinum Pass for just under $2,000. This pass will give you access to not only a ton of concerts, but also VIP-only events, concierge service, and more. 

Yes, there are a lot of famous music festivals going on around this time of the year, but I’m not going to tell you to go to Coachella. Isn’t that a little bit overdone? Instead, how about try a somewhat lesser-known—but totally still pulling a ton of amazing headliners—music fest.

BeachLife has a seriously cool lineup for this year. Expect Duran Duran, The Chainsmokers, Grouplove, Fitz and the Tantrums, Joan Jett, Sugar Ray, James Taylor, My Morning Jacket, Sheryl Crow, and many, many more.

One-day general admission tickets start at $169.

The Rhododendron Festival in coastal Florence, Oregon, is the largest annual event in the entire state, as well as one of the most significant floral events on the entire West Coast. It’s been around just nearly as long as the Portland Rose Festival, and is the third-oldest floral festival in this part of the country, coming up behind the Tournament of Roses.

Held every third weekend in May, the festival takes its name from the Rhododendrons that you’ll easily find this time of year up and down Oregon’s coastline. However, there’s so much more to love about this fest beyond the flowers. A carnival, arts, music, family fun, classic cars, vendors, and the highlight Grand Floral Parade are all on tap.

What better way to celebrate the start of summer than with the fruit that truly does encapsulate those early-season flavors? We’re talking strawberries, of course, and there’s no better place to go for all things ‘berry than the California Strawberry Festival at the Ventura County Fairgrounds.

This beachside festival is within walking distance of downtown and offers up lots of yummy strawberry goodness, both the expected (like shortcakes) and the not-so-expected (like strawberry beer). Vendors, live music, and carnival rides round out the fun. Plus, this event benefits local charities, having raised more than $4 million for organizations thus far.

None too far from Myrtle Beach, Little River hosts the world-famous Blue Crab Festival each May. One of the largest festivals of its kind in the Southeast, the event is obviously going to deliver when it comes to the fresh and local seafood, but attendees will also be able to enjoy live music and shopping from the hundreds of vendors offering up their wares. (Literally, currently the event has more than 250 vendors registered, on top of the dozens of food vendors.)

Plus, the coastal setting delivers up some great views.

You know it from the classic comedy “Step Brothers,” but while it may’ve just originally been a fictional fest in a film, today, the Catalina Wine Mixer is a real thing.

The island off the coast of California is worth a visit all on its own, but this late-May annual event is as good an excuse as any to make your way there. As you should expect, the event line-up includes a “Step Brothers” screening, but otherwise enjoy wine tastings, music, beach parties, and more.

And, yes, there will be helicopters, the event organizer, the Catalina Island Company, assures. (And if you don’t catch that reference, well … it might be time for you to sit down for another rewatch of “Step Brothers.”)