Crandon Park marks its 75th jubilee with a two-day eco-festival

Join the Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces Department for Crandon Park’s 75th Jubilee Celebration, featuring an eco-festival on Saturday and Sunday, November 19-20, 2022, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Crandon Gardens, 6747 Crandon Blvd., Key Biscayne. The jubilee celebrates Miami-Dade County’s Crandon Park and its 75 years of serving the community’s 2.8 million residents. Crandon Park is a Miami-Dade County Heritage Park that represents the county’s ecological history. Nature-centered amenities include Crandon Gardens, the Crandon Park Visitor and Nature Center, and Bear Cut Nature Preserve and Trail, which offers waterfront hiking. An ancient fossilized root reef, one of only two in the world, sits offshore. There is also beautiful Crandon Beach with a seaside carousel and cabanas, the world-famous Crandon Tennis Center and Crandon Golf Course, and the full-service Crandon Marina. 

“Crandon Park is the crown jewel of our Miami-Dade County Parks System,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.  “It is a place for the community to enjoy themselves in a coastal park like no other, from its popular beach with cabanas and seaside amusement area, to its natural landscapes and unique ecosystems on land and sea. As we celebrate the grand 75th jubilee of this beautiful, historic place and experience all that this park has to offer, let us always remember that we are the stewards who care for and preserve these precious outdoor spaces for the benefit of people and the environment. Parks bring people from all walks of life together as equals. There is no better way to celebrate equity than through equitable access to our treasured parks system.” 

The two-day eco-festival celebrates Crandon Park’s role in conservation education and awareness, with the goal of building future leaders of environmental stewardship. It will unite nature lovers, history enthusiasts, and those seeking a fun weekend activity with the opportunity to explore an iconic Miami-Dade County landmark. 

Join Miami-Dade County for a host of engaging, eco-focused recreation activities led by Miami-Dade Parks and county partners, including a beach clean-up on Saturday morning, walking tours of Crandon Gardens, music performances, a beer and wine garden, a vendors’ market, a fun zone, nature-inspired art installations, educational displays, and conservation-in-action demonstrations. Guests will also have an opportunity to participate in a variety of expert-led interactive workshops free of charge, including flower-to-fruit harvesting, native orchid planting, rain barrel collection and water conservation, and landscape sketching. 

Event admission is free. Food for purchase and metered parking will be available for guests. To learn more, please visit miamidade.gov/parks and follow Miami-Dade Parks on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram @miamidadeparks.

“It is with great pleasure and pride that we celebrate this historic milestone for Crandon Park in District 7,” said Miami-Dade County District 7 Commissioner Raquel Regalado. “This beautiful beachfront park is a shining gem of Miami-Dade County, long treasured by generations of residents and visitors from around the world. I encourage you to come out for this wonderful jubilee celebration and eco-festival and see all that this park has to offer.” 

“Seventy-five years of Crandon Park bringing the community together is simply extraordinary,” said Miami-Dade County Parks Director Maria I. Nardi. “Crandon Park is incredibly rich in history and is the backdrop to childhood and family memories as well as a significant contributor to our community’s environmental preservation, recreational and cultural experiences. To think the 895 acres of Crandon Park began with the foresight of individuals who donated land to protect it for public park purposes, in perpetuity, is incredible. We take tremendous pride in Crandon Parks as a vital part of our parks system.   I am thrilled to share its history with the 2.8 million residents it serves.” 

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About Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces:

Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces is the third largest county park system in the United States, consisting of more than 280 parks and 40,000+ acres of parks and natural areas, comprised of active, passive parklands and nature preserves. It is one of the most unique park and recreation systems in the world and focused on placemaking, health and fitness, and conservation and stewardship. 

About Crandon Park:

On November 9, 1947, Crandon Park officially opened to the public. The beachfront park, once part of the country’s largest coconut plantation, was owned by South Florida industrialist William Matheson, whose family donated the land to the county in 1940 to create the park. From the late 1940’s until August 1980, the park contained a small zoo with bears, tigers, monkeys, reptiles, and birds, as well as a miniature train ride. In 1980, the zoo relocated to southern Miami-Dade at the site we now know as Zoo Miami. Today, Crandon Park is popularized for its beautiful beach with seaside carousel, cabanas, picnicking, nature center, full-service marina, and world-famous tennis center and golf course. Clear kayak rides, kiteboarding and stand-up paddleboarding are favorite watersports are enjoyed at this park. 

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