For the ninth year, the amazing Coral Springs Festival of the Arts will bring a weekend of art and culture to The Walk at University Drive March 16 and 17, but this year is extra special with triple the excitement! In addition to the fabulous weekend of events that the Coral Springs Festival regularly offers, factor in that it’s also the City of Coral Springs’ 50th anniversary so this event also acts as a Community Birthday Celebration! Then March 17 is St. Patrick’s Day so there’ll be a special celebration for this fun-filled holiday as well!

Come out and celebrate this beautiful festival and truly enjoy what living in SoFla is all about at this fun-packed weekend for the entire family!

Imagine The Walk which spans multiple city blocks filled to capacity with amazing artists, incredible crafters, a full-roster of all-day musical entertainment, literary seminars, chalk artists, business booths, a children’s area and so much, much more! This is one of our area’s best-attended and most loved and anticipated events all year. And rightly so, it’s a warm, wonderful time spent at a great community event, and the icing on the cake is that the proceeds benefit the whole community, as the Festival committee donates to several worthy community endeavors!

The stars of the show are always the 200 plus artists and crafters from around the country presented by Howard Alan Events, Ltd. Howard Alan is the premier Art Festival promoter in the country producing over 45 shows from coast to coast. This year’s featured art pieces are Florida Birds by Isabel Perez Salazar and 50th Anniversary by Coral Springs’ own Ezi Algazi. Originally from Egypt, Ezi has showcased paintings all over the world.

St. Patty’s Day will feature music of both the green and the orange. Irish music will be played by Avalon, followed by the House of Winston Pipe Band. Visit Mythos Restaurant to see South Florida’s only Cake Decorating Challenge with birthday cakes themed around Coral Springs’ 50th b-day. The winner will be announced Saturday afternoon, so come share a slice of birthday cake!

Throughout the weekend, South Florida authors will be speaking at the Festival at the Northwest Regional Library in the upstairs conference room. Each author will provide an educational presentation about their publishing experience and latest book. The literary seminars will feature Chris Golden, NY Times bestselling author; Michael Mayo, columnist for the Sun Sentinel and Jeff Strand, a horror author.

There’ll be incredible performing arts to entertain people of all ages. The lineup includes a folk singer, Irish Dancers and Zumba performers on Saturday and on Sunday prepare yourself for the popular Gospel choir and Japanese drummers.

Live music will entertain the crowds and keep people on their feet throughout the weekend. Music Chair, Vincent Rebecca, President of Style Entertainment, said, “We’re very excited with this year’s entertainment. We have a wide range of bands to cater to all age groups and tastes. We start off with a Bluegrass Band, followed by a 19-piece big band orchestra playing music from the 1940s, and also a Latin band to finish out the day Saturday. With Sunday being St. Patrick’s Day, we have a great Irish Band to tap our feet to, bag pipes and drums and the finale: a 10 piece band playing Disco from the 1970s.”

The children’s area will feature puppet shows, Mother Goose face painting, sing-a-longs, crafts by The Coral Springs Museum of Art, and the ever-popular bubble wrap dance. For the older kids the Festival will have UCube, a mobile video game entertainment center. And stop by official media sponsor LIFE PUBLICATIONS’ booth, and have “yer picture took” to appear in an upcoming issue! Grab a goody bag packed with a Life Magazine, advertiser coupons, discounts and other fun stuff, or just stop by and say hi!

Parking is always a breeze with a free trolley to the Festival for those who park at The Coral Springs Center for the Arts at 29th Street and CS Drive. And bring your pooch. Attendees on 2 or 4 legs welcome!

This is one weekend you won’t want to miss. We’ll see you there! For more info visit www.csfoa.org, or contact the Festival at 954.340.5992.