Things to Do in South Florida This Weekend: October 23–25

Stone crab season is officially on, and South Florida is celebrating the way it knows how — on the sand, in costume, and under the lights. Friday night stacks two of the year's best food-and-drink tickets against each other: a chef battle on the beach in Miami Beach and a 30th-anniversary grand tasting in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Saturday is Halloween a week early, with a free beachside fall festival, a full day of trick-or-treating and a parade in Delray Beach, and costumed kids collecting candy at the zoo. Sunday winds down with a film festival's closing day, a free Diwali celebration on the Fort Lauderdale beachfront, and free a cappella at sunset on Ocean Drive.

Below are nine verified picks for Friday, October 23 through Sunday, October 25, 2026, organized by day, with the full date, city, price, and official link for each one. Every price and schedule below was checked against an official festival, venue, organizer, or ticketing page this week — still confirm tickets before you head out, because the Friday-night events on this list are the kind that sell out.

Planning beyond this weekend? Browse South Florida events, look ahead with our guide to South Florida food and drink festivals, or eat your way through last week's best waterfront restaurants in South Florida.

Friday, October 23

1. VIP Chef Showdown — South Beach Seafood Festival, Miami Beach

The 14th annual South Beach Seafood Festival saves its loudest night for Friday. On the sand at Lummus Park, chefs face off in head-to-head seafood battles — the festival lists taco, crab, sushi, surf 'n' turf, salmon, shrimp, ceviche, seafood pasta, and tuna among this year's matchups — while guests sample at the battle stations and vote on their favorites. Bartenders get their own showdowns, and the ticket is all-inclusive: food, drinks, and the party are covered. It is strictly 21+, and the online price is $175 versus $190 at the gate, so buying ahead saves money as well as the line. Best for: food lovers who want stone crab season's opening weekend at full volume. Wear shoes that handle sand.

Lummus Park, 1130 Ocean Dr, Miami Beach · Friday, October 23, 2026, 7–11 p.m. · $175 online, all-inclusive; 21+ · VIP Chef Showdown official tickets.

2. 30th Annual Wine, Spirits & Culinary Celebration — Museum of Discovery and Science, Fort Lauderdale

Fort Lauderdale's counter-programming is a milestone: the Museum of Discovery and Science marks 30 years of its signature tasting night, presented by Bank of America in partnership with Southern Glazer's Wine & Spirits. The evening runs in waves — a Pearl Reserve cocktail hour at 5 p.m., VIP entry at 6 p.m., the Grand Tasting and beer garden from 7 to 10 p.m., a food-truck experience on Second Street from 8 to 11 p.m., and an after-party under the Great Gravity Clock. An individual Grand Tasting ticket is $150 with entry at 7 p.m.; the individual VIP ticket is $300 with 6 p.m. entry and lounge access. Note the museum itself is closed to regular visitors on Friday for the event, and reopens Saturday. Best for: a dress-up date night that funds a hometown institution.

Museum of Discovery and Science, 401 SW Second Street, Fort Lauderdale · Friday, October 23, 2026 · Grand Tasting $150 (7 p.m. entry); VIP $300 (6 p.m. entry) · MODS Wine, Spirits & Culinary Celebration official page.

3. Coconut Grove Harvest Opens — Fuller Street, Miami

Friday's free option starts a ten-day run. Per the event listings, Coconut Grove Harvest brings a pumpkin patch to Fuller Street from October 23 through November 1, with Halloween storytelling, live entertainment, and trick-or-treating building toward Halloween night. It is the low-key way into the weekend: stroll the Grove, pick a pumpkin, and let the kids start the costume season early — no ticket, no reservation. Best for: families and anyone who wants fall in Miami without leaving the shade of the Grove.

Fuller Street, Coconut Grove, Miami · Opens Friday, October 23, 2026, and runs through November 1 · Free · Coconut Grove Harvest listing on The Soul of Miami.

Saturday, October 24

4. Seafood Slam: Best of the Fest — South Beach Seafood Festival, Miami Beach

If you only do one seafood-festival event, make it Saturday's. The Seafood Slam is the festival's flagship afternoon: samples from 40 to 50 hand-selected South Florida restaurants, cocktail and wine pavilions, live music, culinary demonstrations, and the Best of the Fest vote — your ballot helps crown the festival's best dish. New this year is a chef oyster-shucking competition, and a stone crab pavilion sells fresh claws at festival pricing (stone crab is the one thing not included in admission). Saturday is open to all ages, and kids under 10 enter free. The $160 online price rises to $175 at the gate. A $275 VIP Weekend Pass covers both Friday's Chef Showdown and Saturday's Slam if you want the full run.

Lummus Park, Miami Beach · Saturday, October 24, 2026, 1–5 p.m. · $160 online, all-inclusive; kids under 10 free · Seafood Slam official tickets.

5. 6th Annual Pumpkins & Palm Trees Fall Festival — Fort Lauderdale Beach

Fall, Florida-style: pumpkins under palm trees at Las Olas Oceanside Park. Admission to the Pumpkins & Palm Trees Fall Festival is free, and so is a long list of activities — a trick-or-treat trail, the MODS STEMobile, balloon artistry, lawn games with candy prizes, and a community market. Families who want the carnival layer can add a wristband: $10 for unlimited inflatables and the five classic carnival games, or $12 with a pumpkin to decorate, while supplies last. Presale wristbands are encouraged. Best for: a full family morning at the beach that costs almost nothing — and the park sits right on A1A, so the beach is the after-party.

Las Olas Oceanside Park, 3000 E Las Olas Blvd, Fort Lauderdale · Saturday, October 24, 2026, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. · Free admission; optional carnival wristbands $10–$12 · Pumpkins & Palm Trees on Eventbrite.

6. Halloween in Downtown Delray — Delray Beach

Palm Beach County's best Halloween day is an all-day, all-free takeover of Atlantic Avenue, per the Downtown Delray Beach calendar. It starts at 8 a.m. with the 15th Annual Witches of Delray Ride — hundreds of costumed witches on bikes, riding from City Hall to Old School Square to benefit the Achievement Centers for Children & Families (riders register in advance; watching is free). Trick-or-treating with Avenue merchants runs 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Halloween Parade steps off at 1 p.m. — and you are the parade, costumes expected — and Kidsfest fills Old School Square from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with food, vendors, arts and crafts, and entertainment. Best for: families who want the whole Halloween experience in one walkable downtown, a week before the 31st.

Atlantic Avenue and Old School Square, Delray Beach · Saturday, October 24, 2026, 8 a.m.–3 p.m. · Free · Halloween in Downtown Delray official page.

7. Zoo Boo — Zoo Miami

South Miami-Dade's family Halloween anchor runs both weekend days. At Zoo Miami, kids 12 and under trick-or-treat through the zoo in costume, with a costume contest, inflatables, magic shows, a live DJ, and games — plus the weekend's best photo op: the animals receiving their own Halloween treats. Zoo Boo is included with regular zoo admission, so the day doubles as a full zoo visit; arrive early, because 750 acres is a lot of ground for small legs. Best for: families with young kids who want Halloween finished well before bedtime.

Zoo Miami, 12400 SW 152nd St, Miami · Saturday–Sunday, October 24–25, 2026, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. · Included with zoo admission; trick-or-treating for ages 12 and under · Zoo Boo dates and details.

Sunday, October 25

8. OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival — Closing Day, Fort Lauderdale & Miami

Sunday is your last chance at this fall's OUTshine LGBTQ+ Film Festival, which closes October 25 after an 11-day run across Broward and Miami-Dade. The fall edition brings premieres from 20 countries, filmmaker panels, and special events, including the festival's Halloween-themed programming. Individual film tickets start at $17, with passes and memberships for anyone cramming the final day. Best for: film lovers who would rather end the weekend with a premiere than a rerun — check the festival schedule for Sunday's titles and venues before you go.

Venues in Fort Lauderdale and Miami · Closing day Sunday, October 25, 2026 · Individual films from $17 · OUTshine Film Festival official site.

9. A Two-Concert Sunset: Diwali at the LOOP & A Capella on Ocean Drive

Sunday evening offers the same hour in two cities, both free. In Fort Lauderdale, the Diwali Celebration at Las Olas Oceanside Park marks the Festival of Lights with live music, dance performances, and food and merchandise vendors from 6 to 9 p.m. In Miami Beach, the Ocean Drive Promenade Music Series puts A Capella on the Beach, directed by Ryan and Cindy Ellis, on the Lummus Park lawn from 6 to 7:30 p.m. — bring a blanket or lawn chairs, and if the weather turns, the concert moves inside The Betsy Hotel's lobby. Either way, it is the gentlest possible landing for the weekend.

Las Olas Oceanside Park, Fort Lauderdale, 6–9 p.m., free · Lummus Park, 14th Place and Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, 6–7:30 p.m., free · Sunday, October 25, 2026.

How we chose

Every pick had to clear the same bar: it happens on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday of this weekend — October 23, 24, or 25, 2026 — in Miami-Dade, Broward, or Palm Beach County, with a date, place, and price we could verify on an official festival, venue, organizer, or ticketing page. We balanced the list on purpose: two big-ticket Friday food nights, one free Friday opener, the beach's biggest tasting on Saturday, three free or included-with-admission family Halloween picks, a festival closing day, and two free Sunday-evening concerts. If an event could not be verified for this weekend, it did not make the guide — including Boynton Beach's Pirate Fest and Fort Lauderdale's boat show, which are both real and both next weekend.

Weekend pro tips

Buy Friday now, and buy it online. Both seafood events raise prices at the gate — $175 becomes $190 at the Chef Showdown, and $160 becomes $175 at the Slam — and MODS' 30th anniversary night is a milestone year for a Fort Lauderdale institution. Pick a lane on Saturday. Miami Beach, Fort Lauderdale Beach, Delray, and Zoo Miami are four different drives; each one fills a day on its own. Dress for the venue. Sand-friendly shoes at Lummus Park, costumes everywhere else — Delray's parade expects you in one, and Zoo Boo's trick-or-treating is for kids 12 and under. End Sunday free. Diwali at the LOOP and a cappella on Ocean Drive both start at 6 p.m. and cost nothing but the parking.

Keep exploring with our things-to-do guides, browse the BestofSFL local business directory, and check back Monday — we publish a fresh South Florida guide every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.