Your Guide to Annual Events and Festivals on Amelia Island, including the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance, Isle of 8 Flags Shrimp Festival, Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival, Amelia Island Book Festival, and Other Recurring Events and Things to Do on Amelia Island, Florida.
The charm of Amelia Island draws locals as well as visitors from around the globe to a variety of annual festivals and events, each one unique and remarkable in their own right. The internationally renowned Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance brings hundreds of priceless collectible automobiles and enthusiasts to the Ritz-Carlton on Amelia Island, celebrating vintage, one-of-a-kind autos that have come to be regarded among the best of the best. In May, Amelia celebrates its seafaring heritage and history with the Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival, which of course offers local shrimp and seafood cooked up by local restaurant proprietors and talented chefs from around the region.
For three weeks in June, acclaimed artists and music lovers converge on Amelia and music literally spills onto the shady streets, with various styles and a range of performances at the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival. And for the intellectual types, the annual Amelia Island Book Festival brings together book lovers, authors, poets, writers and storytellers for a celebration of the written word.
January - Spring each year
1890 S. 14th St
Ferdinand Beach, FL 32034 904.261.1779
This annual festival features world-renowned artists and musicians performing a variety of concerts in historic Amelia Island settings, led by artistic director Christopher Rex.
Enjoy delicious lunch and dinner menus at local Amelia Island eateries as they serve up special dishes at special prices. Many of the top restaurants on Amelia feature signature events and offerings making this a great time to enjoy all the culinary delights that Amelia Island has to offer.
PO Box 15286
Ferdinand Beach, FL 32035 904.624.1665
Growing each year, the Festival continues its original mission: to promote literacy by celebrating the joys of reading and writing. Our slogan has evolved to Amelia Book Island Festival: Celebrating books, people, culture and creativity.
The Festival is a community endeavor. More than 200 volunteers come together to bring this gift to people of all ages. Attendees come from far and wide not only to enjoy the festival, but also to explore this beautiful island, located just north of Jacksonville, Florida, and a bridge-span away from the mainland.
If you want to support literacy and a cool program for students, if you are a book lover, author, poet, writer or storyteller, if you like mingling with interesting authors or just enjoy visiting our unique island heritage, then mark your calendars and don't miss out on this annual Amelia Island Book Festival extravaganza on the Island of Eight Flags.
Held in March each year at the Ritz-Carlton on Amelia Island. 904.636.0027
Car lovers from around the globe gather at this festival of speed each year, which brings hundreds of priceless collectible automobiles and enthusiasts to the Ritz-Carlton on Amelia Island. The long weekend event spans Thursday through Sunday with cars and motorscycles on display, a road tour, cruise-in, and multiple auctions. People can park at Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport with shuttle service to and from the concours.
The mission of the Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance Foundation is to create a world-class motoring event that serves the community through education and charitable giving. The Foundation has donated more than $3.5 million to local charities since 1996.
Held in March each year on Amelia Island. 904.277.0717
Each year the world-renowned Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance draws car afficianados and enthusiasts to this historic event that has grown so big it needs a whole week to celebrate it properly! The Omni Amelia Island Plantation hosts the Gooding & Company auction, Festivals of Speed and the Werks Reunion, while the Bonhams and Mostostlgia auctions offers collectors and car lovers of all types to purchase the car of their dreams or sit back and enjoy the action.
Held in March on the Friday before the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance each year on Amelia Island.
1 mile south of Amelia Island Parkway
Racquet Park, Omni Amelia Island Resort
Amelia Island FL US 310.899.1960
Gooding & Company’s annual Amelia Island Auction is one of the most highly anticipated events of the year for automotive enthusiasts. Our venue, located at the classic beachfront Omni Amelia Island Resort, caters to the enthusiast looking for a beautiful and inviting warm getaway. Amelia Island and Porsche have become synonymous in recent years, largely due to Gooding & Company offering the greatest Porsches from the most prestigious collections, such as Selections from The Jerry Seinfeld Collection. Held on the Friday before the celebrated Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance, Gooding & Company’s auction showcases a curated lineup and features spirited bidding in a comfortable setting. Over the past decade, this Gooding & Company event has earned its reputation as a premier East Coast collector-car auction.
Held in March each year on Amelia Island.
Fernandina Beach Golf Club 904.277.0717
Bonhams is a privately owned international auction house. Founded in 1793, it is one of the world's largest and most renowned auctioneers of fine art and antiques, motor cars and jewelry. Each year in March during Concours Week on Amelia Island, the Bonhams auction sets the standard for excellence in unique, one-of-a-kind treasures for the automotive enthusiast and collector, including rare autorama items, motorsport-related antiques as well as fine autos up for bid.
The Katie Ride for Life is an annual cycling event to raise awareness for organ donation, with fully supported courses of 7 to 100 miles for riders of all ages and skill levels, or the Katie Walk offers 5K and 10K routes through historic Fort Clinch State Park. Organized by the Katie Caples Foundation, which provides education programs to more than 15,000 students at 90 schools.
Held the first weekend in May each year at Historic Downtown Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island.
Seafood lovers descend on Amelia each year during the month of May, which celebrates the island's rich history and cultural traditions. "The next island, the fairest of this province, I call Amelia," wrote James Oglethorpe to the Duke of Newcastle, in a letter dated April 17, 1736. As the only territory in the U.S. under the dominion of eight flags during the past five centuries, it absorbed much from each culture. Before the first flag flew above the island, the Timucua inhabited the area they called Napoyca. From around 2500 B.C. to 1562 A.D., they lived with an abundance of vegetation and shellfish. They had no written language, but are believed to have lived long, healthy lives, due in part to their diet but primarily because of the absence of European diseases. Their way of life continued for centuries, until the arrival of a company of Frenchmen, led by Jean Ribault, on May 3, 1562. Ribault had sailed for the New World in search of a site for a Huguenot colony. When he came upon the island, he claimed it for France and named it the Isle de Mai, for the month in which he discovered it. The French lived in relative harmony with the Timucua until they were bloodily defeated by the Spanish troops of Pedro Menendez de Aviles in 1565.
Amelia Island makes a beautiful setting with the ocean breezes and shady trees providing a unique experience for foodies, with local seafood and Southern flavors served up from renowned chefs from around the world showcasing their fishing and culinary skills at the Omni Amelia Island Plantation, culminating with a Chef Showdown on Saturday evening with a live vote from event guests.
With miles of state and national parks, Amelia Island offers nature enthusiasts plenty to explore and get away from it all. The annual Amelia Island Nature Festival is a 3-day celebration of Amelia's natural treasures, kicking off with a sea turtle release and including kayak tours, biking, boating, hiking, photography workshops, wildlife from the Jacksonville Zoo, nature-themed activities at the Kid's Niche, and much more.
Held in October each year on Amelia Island.
PO Box 16684
Fernandina Beach, FL 32035 904.504.4772
The Amelia Island Jazz Festival provides a rich, diverse cultural offering to the Amelia Island area by exposing thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds to the sounds, excitement and vitality of great jazz.
The Festival presents world-class jazz in many styles, including swing, bebop, Dixieland, big band, Latin, and contemporary. During the week-long festival, held in October each year, music is performed by jazz greats as well as fresh, up-and-coming young talent. Performances are staged in several venues around Amelia Island including Fernandina Beach Golf Club, The Sandbar & Kitchen, Tortuga Jacks at Sliders Seaside Grill. The Lakeside at Amelia Island, Story & Song Bookstore, Bistro and Omni Amelia Island Resort. The goal of the Amelia Island Jazz Festival is to help preserve the American art form Jazz by increasing the exposure and awareness of the music genre to the general public.
A not for profit 501(c)(3) corporation, the Les DeMerle Amelia Island Jazz Festival distributes proceeds toward a scholarship program to fund college education for aspiring jazz musicians and works to provide a rich, diverse jazz offering to the Amelia Island area.
904.491.1190
Billed as the largest Pétanque Tournament in the United States, 200 teams compete in this fast-paced game for all ages. The Open is held each year in the historic harborfront of downtown Fernandina, providing a variety of restaurants and shops within walking distance.
This annual 3-day wellness retreat at The Ritz-Carlton on Amelia Island offers education and inspirational sessions with a focus on renewing mind, body and soul, hosted by respected names in the arts of yoga, meditation and fitness.
This relatively new event on Amelia Island offers live music, food, kid's activities, arts and crafts, beach clean-up, 5K run/walk, education exhibits and other entertainent celebrating the North Atlantic Right Whales and their annual return to the waters off the coasts of Flordai and Georgia.
Held in December each year in the Historic Downtown Fernandina Beach Village on Amelia Island.
Travel back in time during the second annual Dickens on Centre festival in Historic Downtown Fernandina Beach, Florida, on beautiful Amelia Island. Free to the public, this Victorian- inspired holiday festival is as "fun as the dickens" for the entire family.
Enjoy costumed characters, themed entertainment and performances, visits from Saint Nick, and a variety of vendors selling seasonal gifts and wares. Inspired by Charles Dickens' novella "A Christmas Carol," Dickens on Centre transform downtown Fernandina into a classic English village, sure to enliven your Christmas spirit. Think chestnuts roasting, carolers strolling, and readings of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. This Christmas, come make memories.
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