What is the biggest event on Amelia Island?

The Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival, held in downtown Fernandina Beach traditionally on the first full weekend of May. Streets close, and accommodation books out months ahead.

When is the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance?

Each March, on the island’s south end, centred on the Ritz-Carlton and the adjoining golf course. Check the organisers for the current year’s dates.

Is there a farmers market on Amelia Island?

The Fernandina Beach Market Place runs on Saturdays in downtown Fernandina Beach. Seasons and hours vary — check with the organisers before travelling for it.

Why does this events page show fewer events than other sites?

We publish a dated event only once we have confirmed it against the organiser or an official calendar. An unconfirmed date that sends you out on the wrong weekend is worse than no date.

Amelia Island Events & Festivals: What's On, Month by Month

Key facts

Amelia Island's event calendar is shaped by two weekends that reshape the island: the Concours d'Elegance in March on the south end, and the Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival in early May downtown. We list dated events only once confirmed against an organiser.

This week

Nothing confirmed for the next seven days yet. Our events ingestion is being built — until it is running, this calendar carries only events we have checked by hand.

Next 30 days

Nothing confirmed in the next 30 days yet. The annual festival calendar below is the reliable planning tool in the meantime.

The annual festival calendar

February Amelia Island Book Festival — Annually in the winter, typically February
March Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance — Annually in March
April Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival — Annually in the spring, with events across several weeks
May Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival — First full weekend of May (organiser sets exact dates each year)
May Wild Amelia Nature Festival — Annually in May
October Amelia Island Jazz Festival — Annually in the autumn, typically October
October Island Hop Craft Beer Festival — Annually in the autumn, typically October
November Pétanque Amelia Island Open — Annually in November
November Right Whale Festival — Annually in November
December Dickens on Centre — Annually in December
December New Year's Eve Shrimp Drop — 31 December, annually

The annual calendar

Amelia Island's year is shaped by a handful of large events, two of which reshape the island entirely.

March — Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance. A top-tier international collector car event on the south end, centred on the Ritz-Carlton and the adjoining golf course, with auctions and seminars across the week. Accommodation on the south end books out months ahead.

Early May — Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival. The island's biggest weekend by a distance. Downtown streets close, a juried arts and crafts show fills the historic district, and there is a pirate parade. Book months ahead or avoid the weekend entirely.

October — Amelia Island Jazz Festival and Island Hop Craft Beer Festival.

November — Petanque Amelia Island Open, one of the largest pétanque tournaments in the United States, and the Right Whale Festival, marking the calving season off this coast.

December — Dickens on Centre, a Victorian Christmas street festival in a genuinely Victorian street, plus the tree lighting and the boat parade on their own dates.

31 December — the New Year's Eve Shrimp Drop, Fernandina's answer to the ball drop.

Recurring, most of the year

Fernandina Beach Market Place — the Saturday farmers market downtown. Sounds on Centre — first-Friday live music. Downtown Art Walk — second Saturday. Dates and seasons vary; check the organisers.

How our calendar works

We list an event only when we have confirmed it against the organiser or an official calendar. That is deliberate and it means this page will sometimes look emptier than the tourist board's — an unconfirmed date that sends you to a car park on the wrong weekend is worse than no date at all.

Every festival page carries the recurrence pattern even when the current year's dates are not yet confirmed, so you can plan a trip window before the organisers publish.

Where the dates come from

Our sources are listed in full in our data-sources documentation: the City of Fernandina Beach calendar, Fernandina Beach Main Street, the Amelia Island Convention & Visitors Bureau, Nassau County, and the individual festival organisers. We do not scrape ticketing sites.

Frequently asked questions

What is the biggest event on Amelia Island?: The Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival, held in downtown Fernandina Beach traditionally on the first full weekend of May. Streets close, and accommodation books out months ahead.
When is the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance?: Each March, on the island’s south end, centred on the Ritz-Carlton and the adjoining golf course. Check the organisers for the current year’s dates.
Is there a farmers market on Amelia Island?: The Fernandina Beach Market Place runs on Saturdays in downtown Fernandina Beach. Seasons and hours vary — check with the organisers before travelling for it.
Why does this events page show fewer events than other sites?: We publish a dated event only once we have confirmed it against the organiser or an official calendar. An unconfirmed date that sends you out on the wrong weekend is worse than no date.