Fun-Filled Annual Coastal Oregon Events
Florence takes great pride and care in putting on amazing annual events! You’ll find some of the very best Oregon events within blocks of the River House Inn! We play host to thousands of participants and exhibitors every year. Whether you are looking for family fun, food, comedy, art, music, dance, or something more – you’ll find it in Florence, Oregon!
Last weekend in January:
Winter Music Festival
Annual multi-day event celebrates acoustic music with internationally touring, award-winning acts playing New and Traditional Folk, Americana, Roots, and Bluegrass. Workshops, jam sessions, open mic hootenanny, food, drink, and music, music, music!
3rd Full Weekend in May:
Florence Rhododendron Festival
You’ll never forget the smalltown hospitality, charm, and pageantry! Enjoy the carnival, car/motorcycle shows, flower shows, parades, food & music! This is the second-longest running floral festival in Oregon, second only to Portland’s Rose Festival. Memories await!
Mid-July:
“Blast on Bay Street”
City of Florence Block Party. Come celebrate with the locals as they shut down Bay Street for the afternoon and evening for local vendors, exhibitors, and dancing in the street to excellent live music—just steps from our front door. (Don’t worry, the party ends before bedtime.)
2nd Weekend in September:
Rod ‘N Rhodies Invitational Classic Car Show & Community-wide Garage Sale
At Rods N Rhodies you know you’ll see some of the West Coast’s most gorgeous, amazing, awe-inspiring hot rods all around town—up to 125 of the west coast’s best high-end hot rods and custom cruisers from 1976 and earlier will be in town. It’s a high-octane weekend at a spectacular time of year here in Florence—an excellent weekend to sneak away for one more trip to the coast before school really gets up and running for the year. It’s a great time for you to come see these amazing cars, shop some amazing deals, and get time for our uncrowded beaches; our beautiful lakes, forests, and dunes; go sandboarding, golfing, horseback riding; and to check-out our amazing arts, foods, and chowder scene. And again, like anything else fun to do in Historic Old Town Florence, it’s just steps from our front door.
November 11th:
Veterans’ Day Parade & Celebration
Join us as we celebrate and commemorate those who have bravely served our country. Parade at noon proceeds right past our front door, then transforms into a Veterans’ Honor Cruise with classic cars, veteran-owned military vehicles, and entries from the Florence Jeeps R Us club. The Cruise proceeds past several retirement and assisted living facilities around town to bring the parade to those who cannot attend.
Saturday after Thanksgiving:
Cocoa, Cookie & Cider Trail / Shop Small Saturday
Deals and good feels abound to kickoff the holiday season in Florence. And yes, it all starts just steps from our front door. Think of this and the next weekend as your own private Hallmark movie scene. Smalltown charm oozes into your holiday spirit. Don’t be a humbug and miss out.
Please check with the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce for the most up-to-date listing of local events: FlorenceChamber.com or 541-997-3128
President’s Day Weekend:
Wine, Chowder & Glass
Float Trails
Sample a dozen or more of the best of Oregon wines and local clam, crab, and seafood chowders. Enter for a chance to win one of several dozen beautifully crafted, hand-blown glass floats hidden in plain sight all around town. Maps and ballots available through the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce: FlorenceFun.com. Each trail starts steps from our front door!
July 4:
Old Fashioned 4th of July Celebration
The celebration happens each year with watermelon and pie eating contests, family fun, and a spectacular fireworks show at dusk to cap off a memorable day of fun in Oregon’s Coastal Playground. Fireworks are visible from your riverside room’s private balcony overlooking the river. Riverside room reservation required for balcony access.
Early August:
National Lighthouse Day
Celebrate our local Heceta Head Lighthouse—one of the most photographed lighthouses in the world.
Early-Mid October:
Circles in the Sand
Beach Sculpting/Labyrinth: Nationally celebrated Circles in the Sand beach art returns to Florence’s Heceta Beach each fall. Meet and watch in awe as expert sand artist Denny Dyke and his team transform the beach into a work of art. Think “crop circles,” but at a “granular” level. This is always an uplifting event at a great time of year to visit Florence’s beaches. People come from all over. It’s wildly artistic, spiritually uplifting for many, and incredibly unique among beach events anywhere in the country.
More info about Circles in the Sand
Goin’ With the Flo Vintage Trailer Rally & Exhibit
Come to Florence and “roll-retro” during the annual Goin’ with the Flo Vintage Trailer Community Open House. Each year more than 35 kitschy-campy vintage travel trailers are decked out for public viewing, free, at Heceta Beach RV Park, 4636 Heceta Beach Rd. Some of the trailers are restored to perfection, some are still in the restoration process, but these happy campers are staged to greet you in style. Come meet the owners who love to share about this popular travel trend and vintage trailer restoration, and what it takes to keep these rare rigs on the road.
November 12th:
Exploding Whale Day Commemoration
The boom echoes all the way back every year from 1970 when the Oregon Highway Department was tasked with removing a dead whale from a nearby beach. Look it up online. It is legendary. Locals now mark the occasion with special events, menu offerings, creative drink offerings or special brewings at local bars, blowout in-store specials, and dedicatory readings to memorialize the late cetacean.
First Full Weekend of December:
Mayor’s Tree Lighting and More
Speaking of smalltown charm and romance, bring your sweetie and celebrate the season with the Mayor’s Tree Lighting and Santa’s arrival on a firetruck, followed by hayrides, treasure hunts, caroling, special holiday shopping all around town, and more.
Florence, Oregon Events Center
Big name entertainment? Yeah, we’ve got that here too! The Florence Events Center regularly hosts world-class music, dance, and drama. This 21,000 square foot facility (which includes nearly 8000 sq. ft. of flexible floor space and a 455-seat state-of-the-art theater) hosts events ranging from ballet to blues, conferences to conventions, weddings to reunions, and everything in between. Ask them about hosting your large event. The Events Center is home to the Last Resort Players theatre company and the SEAcoast Entertainment Association’s annual concert series. The FEC also hosts three outstanding annual events: the Florence Festival of Books in September; the Celebrate Arts juried art show in November; and the Winter Music Festival in January.
Contact Info
Rhododendron Festival
The Rhododendron Festival is held in Florence each year on the third weekend of May and is celebrated with parades, a carnival, live music, and classic car show, shine and cruises. Each spring, wild rhododendrons bloom in the hills and fields of Florence as they have been doing for hundreds, maybe thousands of years. The white-pink flowers represent the end of winter and the imminent arrival of our glorious summers.
More Info on Rhody Fest
Event Blogs
Fall Fun in Florence: Wine & Chowder Trail, Octo-fur Fest, and More!
“Fall in Florence is a deliciously thrilling time,” says Florence Area Chamber of Commerce executive director Bettina Hannigan. “On October 11, 12 and 13 we add the flavor palate of Oregon’s finest wines and chowders...
Wings and Wheels 2019
Independence Day doesn’t just have to be a one-day midweek celebration. Certainly not if you live within driving distance of Florence, Oregon. This year, come to Oregon’s Coastal Playground for a super-memorable long...
Mother’s Day in Florence, Oregon
Mother’s Day takes place on the second Sunday in May of every year. Although we believe hardworking mothers should be celebrated every day, Mother’s Day provides a special time to thank our mothers, to honor our...
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1202 Bay Street Florence, OR 97439
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170 Highway 101
Florence, OR 97439