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DAYTONA Speedweeks Presented By AdventHealth officially kicks off the NASCAR season with an action-packed schedule of races across several different series, all leading up to the DAYTONA 500. Called “The Great American Race,” this is NASCAR's biggest, most prestigious event of the year and the season-opener to the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. 

One of the best things about a fall getaway by the beach is that the whole place feels serene and refreshed — as if the beach has come up for air after a summer of surfboards, sandy strolls and splashing. A couple things unique to Daytona Beach are its wide, expansive beaches and its fun downtown area, each of which tend to stay uncrowded all year long. Visitors don’t have to feel like they’re in a crowd everywhere they turn, because there’s plenty of elbow room for all! 

Are you escaping to warmer weather this winter? Daytona Beach offers a wonderfully mild climate and a wide variety of spectacular venues — and that’s the perfect combination for one rockin’ New Year’s Eve! Check out these top four spots to consider for saying farewell to 2018. 

Grab the kiddos and head on out this fall for Port Orange Family Days! It’s a fun community event that has grown from 15,000 attendees in its debut year in 1995 to nearly 60,000 last October. Businesses, local organizations and a range of food vendors come together in full force to put on a memorable event that people of all ages will enjoy. This year, the annual fall fest will take place October 4-7, 2018. 

WHAT: 10^th Annual Daytona Beach Half Marathon
WHEN: February 9-10, 2019
WHERE: Daytona International Speedway and beyond

Get in gear for a fun event that is sure to garnish many new memories — and maybe a little blood, sweat and tears (hopefully ones of joy!). The Daytona Beach Half Marathon is back again for its 10^th year this coming February — that’s an entire decade of picturesque running and heart-pumping racing. 

WHAT: Halifax Art Festival
WHEN: November 3-4, 2018
WHERE: Riverfront Park on Beach Street, Daytona Beach 
COST: FREE

What is the Halifax Art Festival?

Back again this November is the 56^th Annual Halifax Art Festival! As the second oldest continual art festival in the state of Florida and named a top 200 festival by Sunshine Artist Magazine, the Halifax Art Festival attracts more and more visitors every year. This year, approximately 45,000 visitors are expected to attend! Art enthusiasts, students and families seeking a fun event all flock to the fest to view the works of 250 fine artists and craft artisans from all over the country. 

Many years ago, when this whole jazz thing was new, someone asked the great jazz trumpeter Louis Armstrong, “What is jazz?” He famously answered, “If you gotta ask, you’ll never know.”

These days, we know plenty about jazz, and this year’s Passport to the Jazz Age — the eighth annual fundraiser for Daytona Beach’s Museum of Arts and Sciences — brings it all home. 

WHAT: 6th Annual Tomoka Fest

WHERE: 2099 North Beach Street, Ormond Beach

WHEN: Saturday, October 6, 2018, from 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

WHAT TO EXPECT

If you’re in the Daytona Beach region this coming October 6, make your way toward Ormond Beach for an early afternoon of educational exhibits and natural wonder! At the 6^th Annual Tomoka Fest, families flock from all over the county to learn about the area’s natural and cultural resources through hands-on activities, exhibitions, living history demonstrations, guided hikes and so much more. 

Summer might get more attention, but there’s something magical about a fall day in Daytona Beach. The weather is great, the crowds are smaller, and the beaches still go on for miles … 23 miles, to be precise. Whether it’s fun in the sun, shopping, a restorative spa day, going out on the water, or enjoying local arts and culture, you can do just about everything in the fall here that you can do in the summer.