Guide To The 2012 Coconut Grove Arts Festival
Since its start in the late 1800s, Coconut Grove has lured nature enthusiasts, bar goers and artists from all over the world. With its awe-inspiring lush greenery, there is no wonder why Coconut Grove is host to one of the nation's premier outdoor fine arts festivals.
About the Coconut Grove Arts Festival
The Coconut Grove Arts Festival, coming upon its 48th anniversary, is a 3-day home for the works of over 360 fine artists and craftsmen. Visitors can roam the Grove viewing some of the finest in local and international art, while sampling scrumptious foods and grooving to live music. Last year visitors took advantage of the chance to dress bare walls with approximately 4 million dollars in artwork sold.
The 2012 festival will feature works of art in the form of claywork, unique jewelry, woodwork, digital art, and much more. For the price of a ticket, visitors are not only free to wander feasting on visual art, but the pop-up stage in Peacock Park that features local bands like Suenalo and the Spam Allstars, gives strollers and festival dwellers local sounds to move to. Delightful bites and refreshing drinks for every taste are also available for purchase.
Getting There
Visitors of the Coconut Grove Arts festival should note that there are road closures, clogging up traffic more than usual.
Road closures begin on February 18th and will remain closed until Monday night:
McFarlane Road from Main Highway to Mary Street Mary Street from Grand Avenue to South Bayshore Drive.
South Bayshore Drive from Mary Street to SW 27th Avenue SW 27th Avenue between Tigertail and South Bayshore Drive South Bayshore Drive from Chart House Road to Mary Street Pan American Drive from South Bayshore to Chart House Road
Entrance to the Coconut Grove Arts Festival is located on McFarland Road. The festival continues down on South Bayshore Drive and into Pan American Drive.
Because the festival takes up a few of the main roads, avoid entering Coconut Grove on any of the closed main roads and instead go down Bird Avenue and turn on any of the side streets. Parking can be tricky, and expensive, in Coconut Grove during the Arts Festival weekend. Visitors should try to arrive early, but if that is not possible, there is parking available further from the festival's entrance (Cocowalk Parking Garage on Virginia Street between Oak and Grand Avenue) that will likely be cheaper.
For the ultimate Coconut Grove Arts Festival experience, bring a blanket for a place to lay and enjoy the live music from the grass at Peacock Park.
Admission
Entrance to the arts festival is $10 per person per day. Children 12 and under, Metrorail Golden Passport and Patriot Passport holders enter for free. Residents of Coconut Grove, with proof of the 33133 zip code, enter at a discounted price of $5 per day.
