Save the Date: Riverfest Returns With a New Name, Plus Live Painting Battles This Fall

Mark your calendars for Nov. 21 and 22, when Ormond MainStreet presents the 17th annual Riverfest at Rockefeller Gardens and Fortunato Park. Longtime residents will notice a change this year: the event, formerly known as the Riverfest Seafood Festival, has been rebranded simply as Riverfest, reflecting what organizers describe as a broader celebration of the community, the waterfront lifestyle, and local small businesses — not just the seafood that put the festival on the map.

The free, family-friendly festival will still bring the elements residents have come to expect along the scenic Halifax River: fresh seafood and festival food, a full weekend lineup of live music, local artisans and crafters, a beer garden, and a free water taxi. Vendor applications are already open for anyone interested in participating, with volunteer sign-ups expected to be announced in the coming weeks.

Ormond MainStreet has run Riverfest for 17 years, and the event has become one of the city's signature fall traditions, drawing crowds to the riverfront for a weekend that blends food, entertainment, and community in equal measure.

For a different kind of creative energy, Art Battle Ormond Beach returns Saturday, Sept. 19, starting at 5 p.m. at Ormond Brewing Company. The format is part art show, part live sporting event: painters compete against the clock in front of a live audience, creating original works in a set time limit before the crowd votes on their favorites.

It's a format that's grown popular nationally for its blend of spontaneity and spectacle, giving attendees a chance to watch a piece of art come together from a blank canvas in real time, all while enjoying a local brewery setting.

Both events reflect something Ormond Beach has leaned into more and more in recent years: turning everyday gathering spaces — a riverfront park, a local brewery — into venues for genuine community celebration. Riverfest is the bigger, more established draw, but Art Battle offers something different for residents looking for a smaller, more intimate night out before the fall festival season kicks into high gear.

Ormond Beach Buzz will have more details on both events, including entertainment lineups and vendor announcements, as they're released.