Sunfest on the Horizon By Hope Wilkos, Writer/Blogger
We know that South Florida great weather and good times are around the corner as the traditional and ever-popular ‘Sunfest’ is advertised throughout the media avenues of West Palm Beach, Florida.
This fun-filled five day event (April 27th – May 1st) takes place in downtown West Palm Beach along the waterfront. It is a celebration of music and the arts captured as an outdoor venue.
Sunfest was founded in 1982 and is considered to be Florida’s largest waterfront music and art festival. Each year the crowds get larger with numbers in the 270,000 range. The festival is produced by Sunfest of Palm Beach County, Inc. which is a private 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. This year, 2011, marks the 29th year the event will take place with 21 members on the board of directors, 25 committees and over 2500 volunteers. There are over 100 sponsors including Florida Power and Light, Pepsi, Captain Morgan, Verizon, Bank of America, Coors Light, local radio and tv stations and more including local company contributors. The event is partially sponsored by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Arts Council.
More than 165 national artists will have their work on display. All kinds of paintings, sculptures, pottery, ceramics, jewelry, wood, arts and crafts will be lining the streets and available for purchase.
In an effort to protect the environment, Sunfest ‘Goes Green’. The motto is reduce, reuse and recycle. Sunfest continues to give back to the community all throughout the year. They do this through projects such as restoring housing for low-income families and providing over $50,000 in scholarships to musically gifted teens. Since Sunfest is a nonprofit organization, they break even from this 5 day festival and some of these worthwhile programs are made possible through grants from the Florida Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs. Sunfest also contributes over 2000 complimentary tickets to area charities, schools, synagogues and other organizations for distribution to individuals who would not otherwise be able to attend the festival.
Not only will there be music and arts but on Friday, April 29th at 5:15 PM, the TGI5K kicks off the evening excitement. Hurry and register now to receive many enticing goodies.
Also on Friday evening, Paul Jr. Designs’ reality stars from The Discovery Channel’s American Chopper will unveil a custom built chopper.
There will be three Captain Morgan’s Floating Oasis’ along the seawall to quench your thirst with specially created Captain Morgan drinks.
As the sun goes down on the festival on Sunday evening, May 1st, the Verizon fireworks show will heat up the South Florida sky at 9:00 PM simulcast to music and sure to have you ‘oohing and ahhing’.
Don’t forget to visit the Wine Garden on the south end of the site. Here you will be able to savor wines in order to pick your favorite for a small price of $5 for a flight of 3 wines.
The onsite store will be selling commemorative prints, posters, shirts, caps and more. Each year is marked with a special print that depicts the theme for that particular year in the traditional South Florida flair.
The best part of all is the All-Star 2011 musical performing lineup. You will be able to see and listen to such great artists as Jason Mraz, Earth, Wind and Fire, Styx, Ziggy Marley, Jeff Beck, Greg Allman which is only the beginning and also many talented local bands and artists.
For the out-of-town visitors, go to http://www.sunfest.com/lodging.php to find all the great deals on lodging packages.
If you have the opportunity, this is definitely worth a visit to see what everyone is talking about. The hospitality is warm and welcoming and we look forward to another spectacular Sunfest along the waterfront.
http://www.sunfest.com for more details such as ticket prices, musical schedule, parking and more frequently asked questions.
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