ArtFest Fort Myers takes place in the downtown Fort Myers River District this weekend. It opens with Friday’s Evening Under the Stars, featuring access to 90 of the festival’s top artists along with Gulf Coast Symphony’s 7 p.m. opening night pops concert, Symphony on the Sound, in the Caloosa Sound Amphitheater. The full festival continues Saturday and Sunday with work by over 200 artists from around the country and Sunday’s Publix Run to the Arts 5K race.
Bonita Springs National Art Festival takes place February 7th and 8th in Riverside Park, the Pine Island Art Association Annual Art Show is at the North Fort Myers Rec Center and the 38th Annual Downtown Sarasota Festival of the Arts visits Main Street at Orange Avenue.
MORE INFORMATION:
Continue reading for more on each of these festivals.
ArtFest Fort Myers
This year, ArtFest Fort Myers is under the direction of a passionate, creative, and dedicated team that believes in the power of art to bring people together.
Juan Santiago leads ArtFest Fort Myers with a passion for community, creativity, and connection. He champions the power of the arts to inspire, unite, and transform.
Grisel Martin brings vibrant energy and a heart for community to her role at ArtFest. She is dedicated to building strong relationships with artists, volunteers, and cultural organizations, helping expand ArtFest’s reach and deepen its impact across Southwest Florida.
Monica Garcia ensures every detail of the ArtFest experience comes together seamlessly. With a background in event production and operations, her organizational excellence and creative problem-solving make her an essential force behind the scenes.
The festival is characteristically attended by more than 90,000 people over the course of its three-day run.
ArtFest Fort Myers offers a VIP Club. The VIP Experience for 2026 has been completely reimagined as an immersive, three-day, multi-destination adventure crafted exclusively for those who crave atmosphere, access and something unforgettable along with avant garde art.
Only 1 in 5 artists who apply are invited to ArtFest Fort Myers. They travel from dozens of states across the U.S.
Go here to visit ArtFest’s online gallery of this year’s exhibitors.
Among ArtFest’s many highlights is Chalk Block at ArtFest, during which 40+ teams from Lee County High Schools and professional chalk street painting artists create beautiful drawings at ArtFest Fort Myers — not on canvas but on the pavement. For most students this is their first time painting with chalk on the ground. You'll be amazed at their talent.
There is also a high school art competition. Called “Art Under 20,” it features work by more than 300 high school artists who are competing for $10,000 in cash prizes.
Publix Art Yard is filled with arts activities for everyone. An array of arts organizations — including Florida Repertory Theatre, Gulf Coast Symphony, Alliance for the Arts, Fort Myers Mural Society and Char-Lee Weavers — showcase their programs with hands-on activities.
Char-Lee Weavers showcase the use of fabric to create unique artwork – fun for all.
Florida Rep paints the faces of children and adults alike.
Gulf Coast Symphony showcases and instructs you on how to play various instruments in their Musical Discovery Zone.
Alliance for the Arts crafts make-and-take projects for the artist in everyone.
The Community Stage features continual performances by a wide variety of dancers, musicians, and other performing artists including Asian Professional Association of SWFL, Family Music Time, NaPua Polynesian Dancers, MOSAIC, Quality Life Center, Hara Tis Elidas Greek Dancers, Ariel V., Dance Bochette, Kellyn Celtic Dancers and Sole Eaterz.
Bonita Springs National Art Festival
This year, Bonita Springs National is under the leadership of Richard Sullivan. Sullivan brings over 25 years of art curation, festival direction and nonprofit leadership to Arts Bonita. As a seasoned professional in event development and operations management, he has successfully organized and directed nationally recognized outdoor art shows throughout Southwest Florida as founder and owner of Boulderbrook Productions.
Under Sullivan’s direction, the festival layout has been redesigned with artists in mind.
Each artist now enjoys a space and a half, allowing for greater visibility and more dynamic presentations.
The festival footprint has also been condensed to one side of the street, creating a more walkable, enclosed environment where every visitor has the opportunity to see every artist without leaving the festival grounds.
Visit https://artsbonita.org/artfest-gallery-show1/ for information and booth location of each artist participating in this weekend’s show.
Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. both days.
While admission is free, donations are requested at the gate, with those funds collected at the gate directly support underserved children, with Arts Bonita awarding more than $250,000 annually in scholarships and arts education programs.
Arts Bonita organizes three festivals each season. Bonita Springs National will return to Riverside Park on the weekend of March 14-15.
Pine Island Art Association Annual Show
The Pine Island Art Association’s Annual Art Show and Sale is Saturday and Sunday,
February 7 and 8 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission is free.
Southwest Florida residents and visitors look forward to this weekend art show because if affords the opportunity to sample the current work of so many talented local artists.
This show includes the work of more than 100 local artists and includes watercolors, oil paintings, acrylics, pastels & drawings. Many are Florida-themed pieces, all matted, framed and ready to hang. There will also be more than 500 matted, original mini paintings which can be hung individually or in a group.
This year’s show location at the North Fort Myers Recreation Center, 2000 N. Recreation Park Way (off BUS 41).
The art league is celebrating its 54th anniversary.
The art show is sponsored in part by Happenings Magazine.
For more information, visit online at www.pineislandart.com.
38th Annual Downtown Sarasota Festival of the Arts
Downtown Sarasota's Main Street sees numerous events, fairs, festivals and fundraisers each year. Few, however, could boast the tenure or the stature of the Sarasota Festival of the Arts.
This festival fills Main Street starting at Orange Avenue and heading east to Links Avenue. The overwhelming success of the festival each year has led to expanding and covering more than five city blocks with over 200 national and regional artists.
The high level of artistic quality, the accessibility of the free, outdoor festival and the diversity of art has led to the Festival of the Arts' consecutive rankings among the top 100 art festivals in the nation, according to Sunshine Artist Magazine.
Residents and visitors are invited to stroll amidst life-size sculptures, spectacular paintings, one-of-a-kind jewels, photography, ceramics and more from the 200 artists who are on site to discuss their inspirations and processes for each hand-made work.
Parking is free and pets on leashes are always welcomed.
Proceeds from the Downtown Sarasota Festival of the Arts benefits the Downtown Sarasota Alliance.
The fair is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, February 7 and Sunday, February 8.
Support for WGCU’s arts & culture reporting comes from the Estate of Myra Janco Daniels, the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation, and Naomi Bloom in loving memory of her husband, Ron Wallace.
