After Series of October Storms, Chamber to Move Autumn Art Festival to November

The decision came in hopes of better weather closer to the end of hurricane season

Oct. 16, 2025

By Beth Kassab

Beginning next year, the popular Autumn Art Festival hosted by the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce in Central Park will move from October to November in order to shift “away from peak hurricane season as well as into cooler fall weather.”

The announcement this week by chamber President and CEO Betsy Gardner came after the conclusion of the festival on Sunday, which featured more than 180 Florida artists who dealt with rain on Saturday and in the days leading up to the start of the show.

Last year Hurricane Milton struck just before the festival and 61 artists were unable to participate because of the storm’s impacts across the state.  In 2022, Hurricane Ian dumped flooding rains on the city just weeks before the festival. And in 2016, the show was cancelled because of Hurricane Matthew.

“While the Autumn Art Festival has traditionally been held the second weekend in October, it has in the past been threatened – and even cancelled – by hurricane risks,” Gardner said in a news release. “We’re looking forward to taking the opportunity to move next year’s 53rd Annual Autumn Art Festival to Nov. 14 and 15.”

The chamber has hosted the event in October every year since at least 1995 before October gained a reputation as one of the most active months of Florida’s hurricane season.

It is the only juried festival exclusively featuring Florida artists and was presented this year by Keller Williams Winter Park and supported by Don Mealy Sport Subaru, Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation and Westminster Winter Park, the release said.