The Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show opened Wednesday. It runs through Sunday, November 1, with doors at 10 a.m. Thursday through Saturday and an early 5 p.m. close on Sunday. Its Saturday falls on October 31, which is also Halloween.
The show sits on the barrier island, on SE 17th Street and at the convention center. Most of the week's daytime Halloween events and its Sunday traditions are downtown, along the Riverwalk and the New River. If you live here, the useful question this weekend is less what's happening than which side of the Intracoastal you want to be on when it happens.
Six venues, one fewer than last year
The 2026 show runs across six sites, according to the Sun Sentinel's October 23 guide. The 17th Street Yacht Basin was part of last year's layout and has dropped out.
- Las Olas Marina, 240 E. Las Olas Circle, has brokerage yachts from 60 to 200 feet.
- Hall of Fame Marina, 435 Seabreeze Blvd., has brokerage and new-build models plus the Windward VIP Club.
- Bahia Mar Yachting Center, 801 Seabreeze Blvd., has center consoles, superyachts, accessories and electronics.
- Pier Sixty-Six Marina, 2301 SE 17th St., has brokerage yachts of 100 feet and up.
- Superyacht Village is at Pier Sixty-Six's Pier South property, next to the southeast corner of the 17th Street Causeway bridge.
- Broward County Convention Center, 1950 Eisenhower Blvd., has fishing boats, runabouts and personal watercraft. The 801-room Omni Hotel next door is newly open.
Five of the six sites are on Seabreeze Boulevard, on the Las Olas side of the island, or at the foot of the 17th Street Causeway. That's where the show-week traffic gathers.
What the city has announced, and what it hasn't
The City of Fort Lauderdale's October 23 traffic advisory is brief. The Fort Lauderdale Beach Park parking lot is completely closed to the public for the length of the show. Anyone driving on the barrier island or along Las Olas Boulevard should expect delays, and Fort Lauderdale Police officers are posted around the event to direct cars and pedestrians. The advisory doesn't list closures on specific streets. It points people to the Water Taxi and the shuttle buses.
The show has built its transportation around the Broward County Convention Center. Its parking page lists more than 3,000 spaces there, with city garages and the Brightline station garage as backups. Shuttle routes run from the convention center to Bahia Mar and Superyacht Village. Another route links Brightline Fort Lauderdale Station with the Riverside Hotel, and a third links West Marine Center with the convention center. Shuttles start an hour before the show opens and stop an hour after it closes. A free golf-cart loop connects Superyacht Village and Bahia Mar.
That Brightline-to-Riverside route matters if you plan to spend the weekend downtown. It means show visitors will be moving along Las Olas Boulevard too, not only out on the island. A Water Taxi pass for the show costs $15 for one day or $65 for five, on the same one-hour-before, one-hour-after schedule.
Halloween weekend, day by day, mostly on the mainland
Friday, October 30
The Rose and Alfred Miniaci Performing Arts Center on the NSU campus has an 18-and-over shadow-cast Rocky Horror Picture Show at 8 p.m. It repeats Saturday at the same time. Christian Life Center, at 2699 W. Commercial Blvd., hosts Light the Night, a free event from 6 to 9 p.m. listed on the city's calendar. Downtown, the city-permitted Posh Halloween Soca Bash at Posh Lounge, 110 N. Federal Hwy., starts its three-night run at 5 p.m.
Saturday, October 31
Saturday's main daytime event is at Esplanade Park, 400 SW 2nd St., on the Riverwalk. Howlerween runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Kytana & Co. is hosting, and the day includes pet costume contests, vendors, food and family activities.
In the evening, Sonic Live in Concert plays the Broward Center at 7:30 p.m. That puts a family concert a short walk from the morning's pet parade, all on the river side of town. The Posh Lounge party runs until midnight and continues into the early hours of Sunday.
Sunday, November 1
November 1 is the first Sunday of the month, so the city's free Sunday Jazz Brunch is back on the Riverwalk from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Davis and Dow play the Esplanade Stage and Gold Coast Jazz plays the Connie Hoffmann Gazebo. Leashed pets are welcome, and chairs, blankets and picnic baskets are encouraged. Sunday is also the show's short day, so the island should quiet down earlier than it has all week.
All week
The Museum of Discovery and Science has I AM WILD: A Charley Harper Exhibit on view through January 11, 2027. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, and the exhibit requires admission. At Galleria Fort Lauderdale, 2414 E. Sunrise Blvd., The Poppy Project Pop-Up Living Garden is open through November 10. It benefits Henderson Behavioral Health together with the USS Fort Lauderdale Support Committee.
The two beach-side events that justify the drive
Two Halloween-weekend draws are on the island, inside the city's delay zone.
Halloween Fest at Bonnet House runs Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. It includes a 1 p.m. costume runway and a trick-or-treat trail presented by Event Bliss and the Fort Lauderdale Garden Club. The MKT at Las Olas Oceanside Park, 3000 E. Las Olas Blvd., is open Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The market is on the same stretch of Las Olas the city expects to back up. If you go by car, Sunday morning is the lighter choice, since the show opens at 10 a.m. and closes early that day.
The show's energy, without a ticket
Some waterfront restaurants are making the week their own. Shooters Waterfront has a boat-show menu, cocktails, live entertainment, valet and Water Taxi access, plus morning coffee. Guests who show a 2026 show ticket get a complimentary glass of champagne. Lifestyle Media Group's show-week dining guide highlights Shooters' Friday Sunset Music Cruise, which starts with happy hour and live music and includes a champagne toast onboard and a $10 Shooters credit. The same guide recommends Casa Sensei's dinner paired with a private gondola ride.
For families who do buy tickets, Lifestyle Media Group reports that the show's Kids Corner has crafts and face painting, and that Don Dingman's Hook the Future fishing clinics are on Saturday and Sunday. This year's layout also adds a floating pickleball court at Las Olas Marina. Children under 6 get in free with an adult, and active military and veterans get one complimentary general admission ticket.
Bahia Mar is still the show's anchor, with a new clock
Bahia Mar Yachting Center remains a central show venue in 2026. The site's redevelopment timeline has moved, however. In June 2025, the Sun Sentinel reported that phase one was expected to break ground in summer 2026. Florida YIMBY's October 23 report now says construction is expected to begin in 2027 and finish in 2030. The project is The St. Regis Residences, Bahia Mar, a $2 billion, 40-acre mixed-use development from The Related Group, Tate Capital and Rok Acquisitions. It includes a newly announced one-acre private club for residential owners, designed by EDSA. For residents, that means the boat show's Bahia Mar venue stays in place for now. The construction start that would change it has moved to 2027.
If your plans for the coming season involve the waterfront, whether buying near the show venues or timing a listing around Fort Lauderdale's busiest weeks on the water, Santiago Ferreira can walk you through how the calendar and the coming Bahia Mar construction affect that block. Schedule a private consultation.
