For 34 years, April at SeaWalk Pavilion meant Springing the Blues. June meant Jax Beach Country Fest. Next spring neither one will be where you expect it. The blues festival has retired. The SeaWalk Music Festival is taking its April slot. Country Fest is leaving June for the weekend of March 7.
Together with the special events policy that takes effect this Sunday, Nov. 1, these moves show Jacksonville Beach is moving its biggest oceanfront weekends into the cooler months, and it is closing off the summer holiday stretch so new events don't crowd back in.
Why June Stopped Working
The clearest explanation is in a staff memo from the Oct. 19 City Council agenda. Alyson Riley, the city's special events coordinator, wrote that Country Fest has been a city-produced event for three years and has kept growing in attendance. That growth brought budget limits, staffing and operating demands, and "the potential for extreme summer weather."
The festival had been in June for one reason. According to the memo, June was "the only remaining month available on the City's Special Events Calendar for festivals." Country Fest got the hottest month of the year because every other month was already taken.
A spring opening required a chain of moves. Jax Beach Festivals Inc., which produces both Springing the Blues and the SeaWalk Music Festival, is moving SeaWalk from February to April to replace the blues festival. That frees the weekend of March 7, and Country Fest moves into it.
The first link in that chain was the blues festival's retirement. The festival's board announced it in late August, after the 34th annual event in April 2026. Action News Jax reported the decision on Aug. 26. The festival's own announcement says the board voted unanimously and that the mission behind the festival, which began in 1991, had been accomplished. It also names rising operating costs, logistical changes and the changing field of large free events as reasons for ending on its own terms.
"We wanted to close this incredible chapter on a high note, celebrating the massive cultural and economic footprint we have left on Jacksonville Beach."
Sam Veal, executive director, in the festival's announcement
The Calendar, Before and After
This is how the spring and early-summer festival weekends change, based on the city memo and the festivals' own sites.
| Festival | Where it has been | Where it's going | What's posted so far |
|---|---|---|---|
| Springing the Blues | April, three days | Retired after the April 2026 event | Board plans a digital retrospective |
| SeaWalk Music Festival | February | April 3–4, 2027 | Lineup listed as "coming soon" |
| Jax Beach Country Fest | June, most recently June 13, 2026 | Weekend of March 7 | No new date or lineup posted yet |
| Florida Fin Fest | Two days, Sept. 11–12 in 2026 | No 2027 date posted | Free ocean conservation, education and music festival |
The SeaWalk Music Festival's official site lists April 3–4, 2027, at SeaWalk Pavilion. The Country Fest site still shows the June 2026 event. The memo gives only "the weekend of March 7th" without a year, so treat the spring date as a plan, not a ticketed event, until the organizers post it.
The arrangement behind Country Fest is changing too. Under the co-production agreement the council approved, the city books the talent and pays facility rental fees. It also provides crowd management and police and fire services. Jax Beach Festivals brings its production experience. The Beach Gazette reported that Jax Beach Festivals will handle alcohol permitting and sales, VIP tickets, merchandise and vendors. The city has budgeted $75,000 for the festival this fiscal year. The first term runs one year and can be renewed for up to two more.
The Rulebook That Takes Effect Sunday
The council adopted Resolution 2225-2026 by a 6-0 vote. The Beach Gazette reported that the discussion took about two minutes, after years of earlier talks and a Sept. 14 briefing. The policy starts Nov. 1, and it does two things at once. It makes room for longer festivals across the year, and it blocks off the summer holiday weeks.
What changes:
- Two-day festivals in any month. Until now, festivals from March through September were limited to one day, and two-day festivals were allowed only October through February. The named exceptions for Florida Fin Fest's two days and Springing the Blues' three are gone because they are no longer needed.
- Same overall cap. The limits of one festival a month and 10 a year stay in place. The Air Show can still run three days in a row.
- Summer holiday blackouts. Events the city doesn't produce are barred from seven days before through seven days after Memorial Day and Labor Day, and from June 12 through July 11. City-produced events are exempt.
- A new venue on Pablo Avenue. The Beaches Museum becomes the only site besides city facilities where outside groups can hold special events. The museum has to be the applicant or co-applicant. Any event that closes Pablo Avenue between Fourth and Fifth streets North needs approval from nearby businesses.
- A narrower drinks list. Festivals are limited to beer and wine-type drinks, which include cider, hard seltzer and flavored malt beverages. Distilled spirits are banned, including spirit-based canned cocktails. Marijuana, CBD, hemp, THC and kratom products are prohibited at all special events.
- Turtle season rules. For beach events between May 1 and Oct. 31, producers must arrange daily nest surveys by an FWC-authorized permit holder. Structures and vehicles must stay at least 25 feet from nests, event lighting must be off by 9 p.m., and temporary beach structures are capped at 300 square feet in total.
Look at the dates side by side. The holiday blackouts close most of June, early July and two weeks around each of the summer's long weekends. The turtle rules add costs to any beach event from May through October. The overall cap stays at 10 festivals a year. Meanwhile, the big producers are moving into March and April. The new two-day allowance gives summer festivals more room per weekend, but the policy leaves fewer summer weekends to use it on. The festival year now leans toward spring and the late fall.
A separate fee resolution, also effective Nov. 1, stops charging for the city's bike-rack-style fencing and waives the parking lot rental fee. Staff said that change affects five events.
What November Looks Like on the New Calendar
The new rules start in November. These are the dates the city and organizers have posted:
- Wednesday, Nov. 4: Seawalk Sessions with Trent Fowler. A free show from 5 to 7 p.m. at Latham Plaza and Seawalk Pavilion, 11 1st St. N.
- Saturday, Nov. 7, and Sunday, Nov. 8: Super Girl Surf Festival. The city lists noon to 10 p.m. Saturday and noon to 8 p.m. Sunday at the same plaza. The event schedule includes women's surfing, volleyball, beach soccer, flag football, a lacrosse clinic, a lifeguard competition and a female 5K. Skate clinics, freestyle trampoline shows and free classes run alongside. An Oct. 1 release on PR Newswire says organizers planned for more than 1,500 female athletes in 10 sports, plus 15 concerts. All activities are free, but you need to register in advance for concert access. News4JAX reported that the announced performers include Switchfoot, Lupe Fiasco, B.o.B and Gym Class Heroes.
- Saturdays, Nov. 7, 14, 21 and 28: Beaches Green Market. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Penman Park, 321 Penman Road.
- Wednesday, Nov. 25, through Jan. 1: Deck the Chairs. The lifeguard-chair display returns to 75 1st St. N. The official event guide organizes the season into weekly themes and says individual dates and times may change. Check it before you plan a night around one program.
The bigger shift comes in late winter. The February SeaWalk weekend moves to April, a country festival fills early March, and the long-running April blues weekend is gone. Mark the weekend of March 7 now and check back for the posted date.
At the Edgewater Home Team, we follow the Seawalk calendar because event weekends shape life a few blocks inland. If you're thinking about a home near the festival grounds, or wondering what event weekends mean for a showing or a closing date, Stephen Williams and the team can walk you through the timing. Schedule a Consultation when you're ready.
