Main Street Vero Beach’s Annual Hibiscus Festival is April 18th and 19th
This year’s Hibiscus Festival entertainment schedule includes many Treasure Coast favorites. Main Street
Vero Beach is pleased to present two days of Art and Music in Historic Downtown Vero Beach.
Saturday’s Hibiscus Festival hours are 10:00am-8:30pm and Sunday the festival opens at 10:00am and
goes until 4:00pm. The Buggy Bunch will bring their Food Truck Frenzy to The Hibiscus Festival on
Saturday and food vendors will be available on Sunday as well.
On Saturday April 18th the music begins at 10:00am in three venues. The Juried Fine Art Show has over
60 artists and the music there will be low key and serene. Performing in the Art Show area on Saturday
are: Brian Fox, Barbara Gulmulka, Jason Street and J D Nalzarro. The Art Show venue is on 14 th Avenue
at the north end of the festival from the Community Center to The Heritage Center. On the south end of
14th Avenue the music features Matt Fulcher, Jackie Steil, Gunnar Flinchum and Rick Wheeler.
The entertainment will alternate in the Center of the Hibiscus Festival between the Main Stage and the
Park Stage near the shuffleboard courts. The Park Stage features Jerzie Nalzarro, Cory Kouns East
Harbor, Blue Cypress Bluegrass and ends with the Kurt Stevens Band. Main Stage Performers will be on
while the Park Stage sets up for the next group. The Dixie Highway Band, the Charter School Wolves and
21 Hearts One Beat will perform on the Main Stage. Solid Gold will be the headline band at the end of
the first day. Their show begins at 6:00pm on Saturday and they will play until the Street Party ends.
The Sunday Festival will have a slightly smaller footprint with 14 th Avenue from the Rotary Fountain to
the Community Center. The Park Stage and The Art Show Area will feature simultaneous music from
10:00am-4:00pm. In the Art Show, Cory Kouns, Brian Fox and David Gonzales will provide the music. On
the Park Stage, Steve Milligan will play and then the day’s entertainment will end with Soul Jam.
Seacoast Bank is the Stage Sponsor for the Hibiscus Festival and The Vero Beach Press Journal and TC
Palm is an Entertainment Sponsor.
Children’s Activities will include bounce houses, face painting and train rides. A $5.00 bracelet is good
for all of the Publix Children’s Activities all day long on Saturday.
The Hibiscus Festival Fine Art and Fine Craft Show promises to be exciting and dynamic with over 60
artist’s works. Over 100 artists applied this year to participate and the jury chose to invite the best in
each category. The Hibiscus Festival Committee strategically planned to expand the art element of the
Hibiscus Festival and this is the first year the Art Show will be two days. With the galleries on
Fourteenth Avenue and many businesses featuring guest artists during the monthly Gallery Strolls,
Downtown Vero Beach is known regionally as an Arts District. Categories for the Hibiscus Festival Art
show are Ceramics, Digital Art, Fiber, Glass, Graphics, Jewelry, Metal, Mixed Media, Oils/Acrylic,
Photography, Sculpture, Watercolor and Wood. Cash prizes will be awarded for First, Second and Third
Place.
The Hibiscus Ride is a cycling event in partnership with Vero Cycling Club. Participants can choose from
four distances; an English century (100 mile), and metric century (100 kilometers or 62 miles).
Alternative routes are 31 miles and a Casual Ride of 11 miles. There will be designated rest stops along
the way for the 100, 62 and 31 mile riders to refresh with food and water. Registration for the ride is on
www.Active.com or there are links from www.mainstreetverobeach.org and www.verocyclingclub.org.
Ride routes can be viewed on www.Hibiscusride.org. Riders can sign up now for $50.00 with the price
increasing to $60.00 on Friday the 17th and the day of the ride. The Hibiscus Ride begins and ends at the
Historical Society Train Station on 14th Avenue. Riders will start the course Saturday April 18th at
7:30am. Dale Sorenson Real Estate is one of the sponsors of The Hibiscus Ride.
The Harvest Outreach Shopping Cart Parade will take place at 3:00pm on Saturday April 18th.
Participating businesses and community groups are gathering food and decorating shopping carts like
miniature floats. The carts will be paraded down 14th Avenue and judged on creativity. For more
information on this event, please contact the coordinators at Treasure and Space Coast Radio.
The Miss Hibiscus Pageant is held before the festival and is Thursday April 16th at 7:00pm at The
Heritage Center. 15-19 year old girls will compete for the title of Miss Hibiscus. The judging criteria is
poise and confidence, community service, public speaking and stage presence. The five judge panel will
interview the contestants on Wednesday, April 15th. Awards will be given to Miss Congeniality, Most
Photogenic and a 1st and 2nd Runner up. Kaitlyn Ruby, Miss Hibiscus 2014, will crown the winner.
For more information or to volunteer for The Hibiscus Festival, go to www.mainstreetverobeach.org, like
The Hibiscus Festival and Main Street Vero Beach on Facebook or follow @MainstreetVB on Twitter.
The Main Street Vero Beach office is located on 14th Avenue in the Theatre Plaza building and volunteers
will check in there the day of the festival. Main Street Vero Beach is dedicated to preserving,
protecting, and reenergizing the economic development in historic Downtown.