March always feels like the last time I can enjoy a full day outdoors before the heat of the Florida sun has me googling indoor activities during the day. And what better way to spend time than enjoying a festival with your family?
My love and appreciation for festivals has grown deeper as I’ve become a mom. I need to be strategic in that my weekends are filled with things that leave my husband and I feeling relaxed and recharged whilst also being fun for the WHOLE family! A festival just happens to be the perfect event to help us create an easy weekend because it offers the following:
- Time Flexibility. We love having a relaxed weekend morning where we can take our time getting out of bed, making a relaxed and often sugar-filled breakfast, and staying in our pajamas past noon. Sometimes it feels like every single step of our Monday-Friday morning routine can be a battle. Sometimes we get woken up before the alarm. Sometimes the breakfast that was the “best meal ever!” is “yucky!” And most days, my daughter finds it hilarious to initiate a game of hide and seek the minute we are about to hop in the car and it takes me another 10 minutes to find her. I’m hoping this is a temporary 4-year-old phase I am in but you can see why the idea of not being rushed on weekends is so enticing to us and the reason we love having a good festival planned on the weekends. Festivals usually span a range of time, so we never feel any pressure to show up on time or feel guilty for only catching the last hour of the festival. Our attitude is always “something is better than nothing”. Local festivals are usually free or lower cost and span across several days, so if our plans change or the weather doesn’t cooperate, it’s not a big loss and there might be a new window to try. We are just happy to have a plan that gets us out of the house but not on any strict schedule.
- Discovering something new. Typically during the week, I’m boring and like to stay within a 5-mile radius of my home/office. But weekends are our opportunity to explore Greater Orlando and there are so many charming towns and attractions to discover. We use these festivals as an opportunity to play tourists in our home city. We will typically look for a new park or playground near the festival we haven’t explored and spend some time equally playing and laying out on a blanket. Then we will end the day having dinner at a restaurant we haven’t experienced (or do take out to eat at the park). If we have timed our day right, we will usually head home after dinner, put on a podcast my husband and I can agree on, and enjoy the long drive home while my daughter falls asleep in the car. It helps make our evenings as peaceful as our mornings.
- Easy annual memories. As you learn more about me, you will see that I love annual traditions and events. Anything done annually helps me reflect on the passage of time and festivals are a perfect example of something the helps me visualize my daughter over the years. Especially as they usually have several good photo opportunities to take cute pictures. A lot of people also love holidays for this reason but I personally find attending a festival a lot less stressful than hosting Thanksgiving.
Theme Park Festivals. I’m not going to elaborate much here. We all know our theme parks excel at delivering the best experience. Whether or not you are a passholder, I’d recommend visiting during this timeframe to have a more unique and enhanced experience, especially before we get into the height of summer temps.
Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival. Daily through May 27th.
Universal Mardi Gras: International Flavors of Carnival. Daily through April 7th.
Seaworld Orlando Seven Seas Food Festival. Daily through May 19th.
Local Festivals. These are the festivals I look forward to as an opportunity to explore Orlando and our different main streets, parks, and restaurants. We don’t need to love the focus of a festival, we just need to use the festival as an incentive to get our family out of the house and exploring!
Touch a Truck Event. UCF Orlando at the Addition Financial Arena. March 9th from 12pm-3pm.
This is more of a (free!) event than a festival but 100% worth mentioning on a parenting blog. Families and kids of all ages will have the opportunity to interact with emergency response vehicles, construction trucks, and off-road vehicles. If you or your kids are sensitive to sound, there will be a “no-honking” hour from 2pm-3pm.
Central Florida Fair. Daily through March 10th.
This is your typical county fair complete with rides, games, food, live music, animals, livestock exhibitions, and competitive exhibits. If you are thinking of going, I highly recommend checking out their daily schedule as there is a variety of entertainment and demonstrations you might want to prepare for.
Winter Park Sidewalk Arts Festival. March 15-17 from 9am-5pm daily.
Winter Park is home to one of our nation’s largest art festivals. You will be able to enjoy art in a variety of mediums and watch music entertainment all day on stage. I would bring snacks and drinks as over 300k people are expected to attend and there will be lines.
St Patricks Day Festival. Center Lake Park in Oviedo. March 16th from 4pm-9pm.
This event is free and family-friendly. There will be live Irish entertainment, Irish cuisine, and of course, green beer for the adults. Kids can enjoy the Irish Step Dancers, stilt-walking balloon artists, and face-painting.
Glass in Flight 2. Leu Gardens Orlando. Daily through May 5th.
This isn’t a festival but does provide a less expensive alternative to visiting Epcot’s Flower and Garden Festival. For the cost of regular admission to Leu Gardens, you will be able to stroll through the gardens and see over 25 works of gorgeous glass sculptures shaped into flying insects and birds. Bring a picnic or head over to Audobon Park for lunch afterward.
Holi Festival. Festival Park in Downtown Orlando. March 30th from 11am to 5pm.
One reason I am excited to be one of the contributors to Momlando is to offer more diversity than I experienced when I was growing up. I learned about South Asian events through our local temple and rarely saw any news in the media. My peers weren’t familiar with the holidays my family celebrated although I was very familiar with theirs. One reason I love living in Orlando is because the city is so diverse and there is always an opportunity to learn about someone else’s culture. We went to the Lunar New Year parade in Mills District last week and I loved how our daughter asked us questions about the Chinese and Vietnamese New Years. I didn’t have all the answers but was happy that we both had an opportunity to learn more.
Holi is a South Asian festival that marks the beginning of Spring and celebrates friendship, unity, forgiveness, and reconciliation. It’s a favorite holiday amongst children as you get to throw colorful powder on your friends. The act of smearing colors on one another during Holi is a symbol of breaking down barriers and promoting inclusivity. It transcends social norms and hierarchies, bringing people of all ages, backgrounds, and social statuses together in a spirit of equality. I’m looking forward to taking my daughter to her first Holi celebration later this month!
Dog Day. Leu Gardens in Orlando. March 30th from 9am to 3pm.
A chance for the whole family, including your dogs, to enjoy a day out in the gardens. All dogs will receive a special goody bag and Leu Gardens bandana. There will also be adorable competitions like Best Dressed, Most Talented, and Best Kisser. Even though we don’t have a dog (yet!) we can’t wait to go experience all the puppy love.
Is there something you plan to be doing that we missed? Let us know!
