The Coconut Grove Arts Festival occurs every year bringing together people from all walks of life to celebrate food, fun and the arts. This year, the venue introduces “Go Coco with Coconut Grove,” an event that will coincide with the Coconut Grove Arts Festival showcasing the artists, music and culinary experts taking place right before the festival. This year’s festival runs February 13-15, 2016. This venue will mirror that of the Arts Festival, with sections slated for the visual, culinary, recreational and performing arts. A global food village will be erected which will include food demonstrations and other giveaways. There will be a special section for the media to interview all participants, vendors and sponsors.

This event will be marketed to media and VIP ticket holders for a pre-celebratory event. Special "black card" invites will be sent to this select group, with a private app showcasing what events and performers will take part in the event. The event is marketed through a series of national magazine and television ads, with gift boxes sent to previous VIP ticket holders from previous years.

Musical selections will be performed throughout the event, with previews of other performing arts to follow. Vendors and sponsors will have booths set up for informational and retail purposes. Past featured artists include Duaiv, jazz soloists, and Latin Fusion musicians. There will be a preview of the international recording artists and local talent that will be performing at the festival, in addition to selections from the University of Miami Frost School of Music Jazz Band.

Sponsors for the event include The Terra Group, Baptist Health South Florida, Barefoot Wine and Bubbly, Carnival Corporation & PLC, The Lincoln Motor Company, Frameworks, Geico, The Children’s Trust, Blue Moon florida, FHA, Coca-Cola, Gold Coast Beverage Distributors, Miami Dade County, Florida Marlins, TK’s, On the Avenue Marketing, Mayfair in the Grove and others.

Tickets for this event are already on sale and available online at $15 per day. Children 12 and under, Metrorail Golden Passport and Patriot Passport holders are free.

What began in 1963 as an intimate “clothes line” art show featuring a handful of artists and a few thousand onlookers as part of a promotion for the Coconut Grove Playhouse’s production of Irma la Douce has transformed itself into South Florida’s most successful arts festival. Today, the event attracts an estimated 120,000 people to the winding streets of Coconut Grove during President’s Day weekend. Proceeds help fund year-round arts programs, which create a positive impact on our community and touch the lives of many throughout the year. Recent initiatives include the “New & Emerging Artists” category, which allows artists ages 18-29 to not only display their work for the very first time at an outdoor fine arts festival, but also partake in a hands-on Arts Symposium and gain access to a carefully-matched Experienced Festival Artist in their genre.