Main Street Vero Beach’s Annual Hibiscus Festival is April 18th and 19th

NEWS RELEASE

Thousands enjoy the Hibiscus Festival every year in Downtown Vero

This year’s Hibiscus Festival entertainment schedule includes many Treasure Coast favorites. Main Street Vero Beach is pleased to present two days of Art and Music in Historic Downtown Vero Beach. Saturday’s Hibiscus Festival hours are 10:00am-8:30pm and Sunday the festival opens at 10:00am and goes until 4:00pm. The Buggy Bunch will bring their Food Truck Frenzy to The Hibiscus Festival on Saturday and food vendors will be available on Sunday as well. Here’s the activity lineup:

On Saturday April 18^th the music begins at 10:00am in three venues. The Juried Fine Art Show has over 60 artists and the music there will be low key and serene. Performing in the Art Show area on Saturday are: Brian Fox, Barbara Gulmulka, Jason Street and J D Nalzarro. The Art Show venue is on 14^th Avenue at the north end of the festival from the Community Center to The Heritage Center. On the south end of 14^th Avenue the music features Matt Fulcher, Jackie Steil, Gunnar Flinchum and Rick Wheeler.

The entertainment will alternate in the Center of the Hibiscus Festival between the Main Stage and the Park Stage near the shuffleboard courts. The Park Stage features Jerzie Nalzarro, Cory Kouns East Harbor, Blue Cypress Bluegrass and ends with the Kurt Stevens Band. Main Stage Performers will be on while the Park Stage sets up for the next group. The Dixie Highway Band, the Charter School Wolves and 21 Hearts One Beat will perform on the Main Stage. Solid Gold will be the headline band at the end of the first day. Their show begins at 6:00pm on Saturday and they will play until the Street Party ends.

The Sunday Festival will have a slightly smaller footprint with 14^th Avenue from the Rotary Fountain to the Community Center. The Park Stage and The Art Show Area will feature simultaneous music from 10:00am-4:00pm. In the Art Show, Cory Kouns, Brian Fox and David Gonzales will provide the music. On the Park Stage, Steve Milligan will play and then the day’s entertainment will end with Soul Jam.

Seacoast Bank is the Stage Sponsor for the Hibiscus Festival and The Vero Beach Press Journal and TC Palm is an Entertainment Sponsor.

Children’s Activities will include bounce houses, face painting and train rides. A $5.00 bracelet is good for all of the Publix Children’s Activities all day long on Saturday.

The Hibiscus Festival Fine Art and Fine Craft Show promises to be exciting and dynamic with over 60 artist’s works. Over 100 artists applied this year to participate and the jury chose to invite the best in each category. The Hibiscus Festival Committee strategically planned to expand the art element of the Hibiscus Festival and this is the first year the Art Show will be two days. With the galleries on Fourteenth Avenue and many businesses featuring guest artists during the monthly Gallery Strolls, Downtown Vero Beach is known regionally as an Arts District. Categories for the Hibiscus Festival Art show are Ceramics, Digital Art, Fiber, Glass, Graphics, Jewelry, Metal, Mixed Media, Oils/Acrylic, Photography, Sculpture, Watercolor and Wood. Cash prizes will be awarded for First, Second and Third Place.

The Hibiscus Ride is a cycling event in partnership with Vero Cycling Club. Participants can choose from four distances; an English century (100 mile), and metric century (100 kilometers or 62 miles). Alternative routes are 31 miles and a Casual Ride of 11 miles. There will be designated rest stops along the way for the 100, 62 and 31 mile riders to refresh with food and water. Registration for the ride is on www.Active.com or there are links from www.mainstreetverobeach.org and www.verocyclingclub.org. Ride routes can be viewed on http://www.Hibiscusride.org. Riders can sign up now for $50.00 with the price increasing to $60.00 on Friday the 17^th and the day of the ride. The Hibiscus Ride begins and ends at the Historical Society Train Station on 14^th Avenue. Riders will start the course Saturday April 18^th at 7:30am. Dale Sorenson Real Estate is one of the sponsors of The Hibiscus Ride.

The Harvest Outreach Shopping Cart Parade will take place at 3:00pm on Saturday April 18^th. Participating businesses and community groups are gathering food and decorating shopping carts like miniature floats. The carts will be paraded down 14^th Avenue and judged on creativity. For more information on this event, please contact the coordinators at Treasure and Space Coast Radio.

The Miss Hibiscus Pageant is held before the festival and is Thursday April 16^th at 7:00pm at The Heritage Center. 15-19 year old girls will compete for the title of Miss Hibiscus. The judging criteria is poise and confidence, community service, public speaking and stage presence. The five judge panel will interview the contestants on Wednesday, April 15th. Awards will be given to Miss Congeniality, Most Photogenic and a 1^st and 2^nd Runner up. Kaitlyn Ruby, Miss Hibiscus 2014, will crown the winner.

For more information or to volunteer for The Hibiscus Festival, go to www.mainstreetverobeach.org, like The Hibiscus Festival and Main Street Vero Beach on Facebook or follow @MainstreetVB on Twitter. The Main Street Vero Beach office is located on 14^th Avenue in the Theatre Plaza building and volunteers will check in there the day of the festival. Main Street Vero Beach is dedicated to preserving, protecting, and re-energizing the economic development in historic Downtown.