Your Definitive Guide: Miami’s Best Fests for LGBTQ Travelers

The home city to White Party Week also plays host year-round to renowned contemporary designers, culinary magnates and prolific musicians for days-long displays of creative brilliance and community celebration. Combine them into one list and the result is a one-stop, diverse destination with an event for every LGBTQ traveler. Soak up Miami's rich history and manifold cultures with these 14 premiere fairs, festivals and events that showcase the sunny city in all its vibrant glory.

FUNDarte's Out in the Tropics
June 22 - 25, 2017
Now in its eighth year, FUNDarte's Out in the Tropics is a week-long performing arts series that celebrates artists tackling issues in the LGBTQ world like sexuality, gender politics and identity. Out in the Tropics Festival attracts LGBTQ headliners from around the world to perform at The Gleason Room at the Fillmore Miami Beach. At the event, you'll find unique artists and talented entertainers, and enjoy pop-up performances, micro-theater shows and interactive workshops.

Celebrate Orgullo Festival
October 1 - 15, 2017
Hispanic LGBTQ pride is on full display at the Celebrate Orgullo Festival. The 15-day celebration revels in all realms of Latino culture with programming like in-depth writing salons taught by world-renowned authors, art studio bus tours across the greater Miami area, spoken word workshops with poets and musicians and pop-up art galleries in unique spaces. Each one of the festival's events represent the true depth and spirit of Miami's Hispanic community.

III Points Festival
October 13 - 15, 2017
So much more than a music festival, III Points takes over Wynwood neighborhood for a three-day event encompassing art, technology and music. Avant-garde street installations, forward-thinking electronic acts, intriguing panels and more all help to create a fully immersive festival experience--but the festival doesn't overlook the centrality of music. The III Points Festival draws marquee names who rarely make Florida appearances--LCD Soundsystem, Thievery Corporation--as well as artists who perform in Florida annually, including rapper, actor and local favorite Method Man.

White Party Week
November 23 - 27, 2017
Anyone who loves a circuit party knows Miami's long-running White Party Week is the most extraordinary. This dance party is legendary for creating a lasting community and is considered by many a rite of passage. The White Party isn't only bout the Miami sun and nighttime fun; the event is a major HIV and AIDS healthcare fundraising event.

Design Miami/
November 30 - December 4, 2017
Sure, you've heard of Art Basel--but those in the know will tell you the real star of Miami's art week is its sister fair, Design Miami/. The fair serves as a who's who of the international interior design world, showcasing a highly curated and elegant selection of furniture and decor avid collectors can add to their homes. Plus, guests can join design talks with some of the industry's top leaders and thinkers, grab a bite at the Dean & Deluca pop-up restaurant and do something most art fairs discourage: actually touch the art.

Art Basel Miami Beach
December 7 - 10, 2017
Located within the Art Deco Historic District, Art Basel Miami Beach is known as an international exhibition of enormous artistic magnitude. Last year's show included over 250 galleries from 31 countries, including two local Miami galleries, and attracted committed patrons of the influential style. Check out Art Basel's website for a listing of events, vendors and speakers at this year's world-renown exhibition.

Art Deco Weekend
January 12 - 14, 2018
Almost 40 years ago, the Miami Design Preservation League orchestrated a weekend of praise for Miami's South Beach art deco architecture, dating all the way back to the '30s. Fast-forward to present day, and witness the museums, films, guided tours, education initiatives and tight-knit community surrounding the style moderne that impacted contemporary art and design around the world. The weekend-long event is open to visitors of all ages and is located within the Art Deco Historic District, encompassing an impressive 800 buildings. For a complete list of the weekend's events, visit the MDPL website.

Gay8 Festival
February 14, 2018
After a short period of cancellation, the Gay8 Festival is back on and prepared to help celebrate Miami's vibrant LGBTQ community in the city's original cultural epicenter: Little Havana. The free street festival takes over the historic neighborhood's core of Calle Ocho for a day-long celebration that boasts the area's best music, cuisine, art and dance, making for one wildly popular street party.
Pro-tip: avoid sounding like a tourist and call it "GayOcho."

Food Network & Cooking Channel South Beach Wine & Food Festival
February 21 - 25, 2018
Anthony Bourdain once famously described the South Beach Wine & Food Festival as "spring break for chefs." And he's right. In late February of each year, chefs, restaurateurs and Food Network personalities descend upon South Beach for a weekend of sun, food and drink. The festival hosts more than 90 activities over the three-day weekend, including large-scale tastings, world-class dinners, exciting drink activations, late-night parties and decadent brunches.

Winter Party
February 28 - March 6, 2018
This legendary party now running 25 years strong and has come a long way from its one-day-only dance party roots. The now week-long celebration of the LGBTQ community is jam-packed with social events, art shows and movie screenings that raise millions of dollars for LGBTQ advocacy and community groups in the Greater Miami area. And despite its immense growth over the years, the event hasn't forgotten its roots--wrapping up the week with an epic, not to be missed Sunday dance party in Lummus Park with sets by world-class DJs.

Outshine Film Festival
April 20 - 29, 2018
Miami's premiere film festival featuring works from the LGBTQ community, the Outshine Film Festival (formerly the Miami Gay & Lesbian Film Festival) spans a wide array of films centered around LGBTQ experiences and screened over a 10-day period. Whether you're in the mood for a comedy, drama, or even a thriller, Outshine's prepared a film to satisfy your cinematic palate--the schedule includes more than 80 films from around the world.

Miami Beach Gay Pride
April 7, 2018
The annual Miami Beach Gay Pride Parade celebrates the LGBTQ community in the Greater Miami area and draws tens of thousands of revelers during the weekend-long celebration filled with festivals, after-parties and after-after-parties. The colorful weekend wraps up with Sunday's all-day parade along Ocean Drive with massive floats, celebrity emcees, dancing in the street and plenty of sunshine.

Aqua Girl
Event dates in 2018 to be announced soon.
For women who love women, Aqua Girl is not to be missed. The week-long fete geared toward the lesbian, bisexual and transgender community is filled with an array of events ranging from speed dating, to yoga, to dance parties, to its legendary splash pool party. And better yet, 100 percent of the proceeds go towards Aqua Foundation for Women. The foundation acts "as the funding catalyst for lesbian, bisexual, and transgender wellness and equality in South Florida through grants, scholarships, and initiatives," according to its website.

Sizzle Miami
May 26 - 28, 2018: Memorial Day Weekend
Considered one of the country's top urban gay events, Sizzle Miami has been a favorite Memorial Day weekend destination for the past 15 years. The five-day affair features a hodgepodge of different activities, from concerts with headlining acts like Trina, to beach blowouts, all-day pool parties and more, flaunting Miami's unique diversity, fun spirit, substance and flare.

Sweet Heat Miami
May 2018
Sweet Heat is an annual weekend-long South Beach festival that is for women, by women. Celebrating women of color, the four-day fair features nonstop parties, a dizzying array of DJs, yacht cruises, celebrity guest appearances and plenty of fun on Miami Beach. Expect more than 40,000 women flocking to Miami just for Sweet Heat, making it one of the largest female-only festivals in the country.

After all the fun, frenzy, friends and food, treat yourself to a relaxing day of rejuvenation for the mind, body and soul at Miami's finest revitalization spots.