Miami Beach

The 35th Annual Coldwell Banker Miami Beach Festival of the Arts is Miami Beach’s oldest art festival and brings over 50,000 visitors to North Beach’s seaside promenade to browse amongst the fine art on exhibit while enjoying an array of performing arts and epicurean offerings.

This year’s festival dates are February 7 and 8, 2009, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. (both Saturday and Sunday). It will once again be located on the magnificent Ocean Terrace (east of Collins Ave between 73 and 75 streets). The festival is positioned between the open sea, the commercial district, and the open-air band shell and community center.

The Miami Beach Festival of the Arts will celebrate its 35th anniversary in 2009 by continuing its relationship with Coldwell Banker, title sponsor of the event. The Festival has evolved from a local street show to one of the most prestigious cultural art festivals on the East Coast. This signature community event showcases the juried artwork of over 150 unique artists from across the nation, exhibiting paintings, sculpture, glass, ceramics, jewelry, and photography.

“It is a great pleasure for the City of Miami Beach to host the 35th Annual Coldwell Banker Festival of the Arts. This event has become an annual opportunity for tourists and residents from the South Florida community to enjoy, and continues its growth as an enriching cultural experience that has become synonymous with Miami Beach and its historical support of the arts,” added City of Miami Beach Mayor Matti Herrera Bower.

In past years, the Festival has invited distinguished artists such as Kenny Scharf and Nam June Paik to create the official festival poster artwork and this year will be no exception with Stephen Gamson. While his art is conceptual in nature, there is a sophisticated underlying message found in each one of Gamson’s compositions. The symbols in his work represent the human race. His dynamic paintings and sculptures portray events inseparable from daily life.

The festival also features music and entertainment by premiere South Florida performers, an international food court and plenty of free activities for the kids, including a children’s gallery with hands-on arts & crafts. This year Spam Allstars, Locos Por Juana, Conjunto Progreso and Suenalo will perform during the Festival, which is free to attend. The Ocean Terrace offers an open-air band shell, activity center and beach bowl with on-going music, dance, theatre, arts & crafts, storytelling and international cuisine throughout the event for children of all-ages.

This event is produced by the City of Miami Beach with support from the City of Miami Beach Fine Arts Board and the Office of Tourism and Cultural Development.