langerado (www.langerado.com)... sunrise FL, march 12th and 13th, 2005 wanee festival (www.waneefestival.com)... live oak FL, april 15th and 16th, 2005 uphonia festival (www.uphoniafest.com)... quincy FL, may 13th-15th, 2005 i'm not sure if i can handle it all...
This year was the 25th anniversary of what started out as a small event, and has grown into the giant fiesta known as the Calle Ocho Festival, the grand finale to the weeklong Mardi Gras event, Carnaval Miami. Not that you would guess it if you were there, with wall to wall bodies packing 23 blocks across town along Calle Ocho, ("Eighth Street") Miami's Latin heart. Food, drink, music, and dancing are always the main attractions at the Calle Ocho Festival, and this year was no exception. The food of every Latin American nation was for sale at street vendors lining the sides of the streets, with heavy emphasis on barbecued meats, arepas, and seafood such as paella and ceviche. Have you ever tried pinchos, arepas or tamales ? These are some of the foods available at the Calle Ocho festival. In Miami, Florida, there is a large Cuban American population, and every year they have a Calle Ocho festival. Calle Ocho (pronounced kye-yay oh-cho) means "eighth street" in Spanish and is the single largest celebration of Latino culture in the United States. Eighth Street is the most popular street in "Little Havana" and is Miami's center of Cuban culture. Find the discount Miami Hotel accommodations here, and spend more time enjoying the festival. Calle Ocho is an enormous street party, and entire streets are blocked off to make room for music, dance, visual arts, food and other fun! Calle Ocho started in 1978 to bring the Hispanic community together, and it was so popular that although only 10,000 people were expected, more than 100,000 showed up! Each year the festival grows and today the event is known as Carnaval Miami and is celebrated over two weekends in March. And if this festival isn;t fun enough check out other South Beach events here.