A free, juried art show at Lake Nona Town Center: the honest rundown before you go.

Artist booths at the Lake Nona Art Festival at Lake Nona Town Center

By David Myers, Broker Associate · NonaOrlandoProperties.com · Last updated September 2026

The Lake Nona Art Festival is a free, juried, two-day fine-art show at Lake Nona Town Center in Orlando. It is held each February; the first ran February 22 and 23, 2025, and the second February 21 and 22, 2026. About 100 artists exhibit and sell work across painting, sculpture, photography and jewelry. Artists compete for $25,000 to $30,000 in awards, depending on whether the Best of Show winner takes a purchase or a cash award. Recent hours were 10 AM to 6 PM on Saturday and 10 AM to 4 PM on Sunday.

Lake Nona is better known for its hospital cluster and its art-filled Wave Hotel than for festivals, but since 2025 it has run its own juried art show. For one February weekend, Town Center becomes an open-air gallery, and it costs nothing to walk through.

One thing to know before you read the word "annual" everywhere: this is a young festival. It has run twice. That doesn't make it worse, but it does mean you should set expectations differently than you would for Central Florida's decades-old art shows.

What is the Lake Nona Art Festival?

The Lake Nona Art Festival is a free, juried, two-day fine-art show held each February at Lake Nona Town Center.

Juried means artists apply and a jury decides who gets a booth, which keeps the quality above an open craft fair. Roughly 100 artists set up to show and sell original work: oil and watercolor paintings, sculpture, photography, woodwork and handcrafted jewelry. The show director is Janet Gamache, a longtime Central Florida festival organizer, and AdventHealth has sponsored an award at recent editions.

Lake Nona Art Festival at a glance
When A weekend in February (February 21 and 22 in 2026)
Hours Normally 10 AM to 6 PM Saturday, 10 AM to 4 PM Sunday
Cost Free admission
Where Lake Nona Town Center, Orlando, FL 32827
Artists About 100, juried
Awards $25,000 to $30,000 depending on how Best of Show is paid
First held February 2025

How new is the Lake Nona Art Festival?

The Lake Nona Art Festival is new: it first ran in February 2025 and has been held twice.

The inaugural festival ran February 22 and 23, 2025, and the second edition ran February 21 and 22, 2026. The organizers intend it to be an every-February event, but it has not built a long track record yet.

For comparison, the Mount Dora Arts Festival held its 51st edition in 2026 with about 300 artists, and the Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival is another long-established show with a bigger field. The trade-off works in a visitor's favor for now: a juried field with far more room to browse than the established shows.

How much prize money do Lake Nona Art Festival artists compete for?

Artists at the Lake Nona Art Festival compete for $25,000 to $30,000 in awards, and the range depends on one choice made by the Best of Show winner.

The festival's awards page lists Best of Show as either a $10,000 purchase of the winning work or a $5,000 cash award. On top of that are two Judges Choice awards of $5,000 each, for 2D and 3D work, and ten $500 Awards of Excellence in each category. That adds up to $30,000 if the winner takes the purchase and $25,000 if they take the cash, which is why listings quote both figures.

AdventHealth also presents an Art of Wholeness award for work that reflects healing and hope. See the official awards page for the current structure.

What is there to do besides the art booths?

Past editions have paired the art booths with live music, food trucks, a kids' zone and live art demonstrations.

Recent programming has included pop-up bars, a live event painter and a large paint-by-number mural visitors help fill in. Around the festival weekend, Town Center's Friday-night Art After Dark makers market, Boxi Park and the Lake Nona Wave Hotel have run art-themed events of their own. Programming changes each year, so check the official site for the current schedule.

If you're making a day of it, start with our Lake Nona restaurants guide and Lake Nona shopping guide.

Where do you park for the Lake Nona Art Festival?

The festival is held at Lake Nona Town Center, and parking is in the Town Center area around Wave Hotel Drive; check the official site for current parking guidance.

Festival listings give the address as 6100 Wave Hotel Drive, Orlando, FL 32827. Arrive in the morning: Saturday is usually busier than Sunday, and the earlier you come, the easier parking and browsing get. February weather is usually mild, but afternoons can still turn warm, and shade on the festival footprint is limited.

Why does Lake Nona host an art festival?

Lake Nona already treats public art as part of the town, so the festival builds on a collection residents see every day.

A free, walkable sculpture collection runs through Town Center, anchored by JEFRE's Beacon sculpture, and the Wave Hotel displays a large art collection of its own. If you can't make the February weekend, the self-guided Lake Nona public art tour covers the murals and installations on foot, and our Lake Nona arts and culture guide pulls the rest together.

Pros, Cons and Our Take

Pros

  • Free admission at a walkable Town Center.
  • Genuinely juried, with about 100 selected artists rather than a craft-fair mix.
  • Less crowded than the long-established shows, at least while it's young.
  • Food, music and year-round public art surround the booths.

Cons

  • It's new: programming, footprint and dates can shift from year to year.
  • A smaller artist field than Mount Dora's roughly 300 or the Winter Park show.
  • Shade is limited, and February afternoons are not always cool.
  • Saturday midday gets busy with locals.

Our Take

If you like finding artists before a show gets big, and you'd rather browse in relative calm than fight a crowd, this is an easy yes for a February morning. If you want the largest possible field, the Mount Dora and Winter Park festivals still out-scale it, and many Central Florida art buyers go to all three.

What the Neighbors Know

The Lake Nona Art Festival is a free, juried show worth a February visit, as long as you go in knowing it is a newcomer still building its reputation. That is part of the appeal: you are seeing an event take shape in a community that already lives with public art every day. Pair it with a cultural day trip to Orlando's museums for an arts-heavy weekend.

For buyers weighing a move, it is also a useful signal. A community that hosts a juried art show, maintains a public sculpture collection and fills its events calendar is showing what kind of place it intends to be.

Official Sources

Buying or selling in Lake Nona? Call/Text David Myers at 407.801.3286 or use the contact form.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Lake Nona Art Festival free to attend?

Yes. Admission is free. You only spend money if you buy art, food or drinks.

When is the Lake Nona Art Festival held?

It is held over a weekend in February at Lake Nona Town Center. The first ran February 22 and 23, 2025, and the second February 21 and 22, 2026.

Is the Lake Nona Art Festival juried, and are there prizes?

Yes. A jury selects about 100 artists, who compete for $25,000 to $30,000 in awards, depending on whether the Best of Show winner takes a purchase or a cash award.

What are the Lake Nona Art Festival hours?

Recent hours were 10 AM to 6 PM on Saturday and 10 AM to 4 PM on Sunday.

Where is the Lake Nona Art Festival held?

It is held at Lake Nona Town Center. Festival listings give the address as 6100 Wave Hotel Drive, Orlando, FL 32827.