Calle Ocho Festival 2012 -- March in Miami

One week each March, Miami transforms itself into a traditional Latin street festival. Calle Ocho (SW 8th Street) becomes the scene of Carnaval as over a million spectators gather to celebrate in the city’s largest annual party. If you’d like to join the fun, the 2012 festival begins on February 18th with the Miss Carnival Miami competition and continues through the grand finale on Sunday March 11th with the Calle Ocho block party.

What goes on at Calle Ocho? What doesn’t! One of the most interesting traditional events is the Baptist Health Domino Tournament which runs from March 5th through 7th. It’s held in Domino Park at the corner of SW 8th Street and SW 15th Avenue and features some intense competition as Miami’s domino giants compete for cash prizes.

If you’re a golfer, you’ll want to show up early for the Carnaval Miami Golf Classic at the Melreese Golf Course. It's on March 8th and features a shotgun start.

The big party is on Sunday March 14th and is one of Miami’s “don’t miss” events. If you’ve never been to El Festival de la Ocho, you owe it to yourself to attend! The festival closes off 24 blocks of SW 8th Street to host dancing, food, drink and 30 stages of live entertainment. This is one heck of a party! In 1988, the festival was the scene of a Guinness World Record, as 119,986 people joined in the world’s longest conga line!

If you’d like to read more on the history and neighborhood of Calle Ocho, be sure to read our article Calle Ocho, Little Havana. Otherwise, hit the streets and join the party!