It’s that time of year to celebrate mangos, lychees, key limes and tropical fruits at South Florida festivals, hands-on classes and tastings.
Events
Mango Men Homestead
Weekends May through July
Follow Mango Men Homestead on Facebook
This year’s mango harvest is great compared to last year’s dismal output. Mango master Dr. Richard Campbell has wild mangos and special cultivars this year. “‘Jade Dragon’ is one of our wangos (wild mangos), with a vital, tart flavor and a pungent aroma reminiscent of ‘manga’, harkening back to old times,” he says. Campbell and his family open their porch on weekends to sell rare mangos from his orchard, plus honey, dried mango and other mango products, all accompanied by his tall tales. Follow their Facebook page
Island Space Mango Festival
Sat., June 7
Lauderdale Lakes Middle School
Ticket sales here
Free mango tastings, mango-inspired goods from vendors and growing tips. Tickets $23+
Tropical Fruit Soiree: Mutiny Under the Stars
WHAT: Support Grimal Grove youth programs at this tropical event! Farm-fresh hors d’oeuvres, drinks and live music. $75 per person, $125 per couple.
WHEN: Fri., June 20
WHERE: Grimal Grove, 258 Cunningham Lane, Big Pine Key
MORE INFO: Grimal Grove
Summer Fruit Festival at Fruit and Spice Park
Sat., June 21 and Sun., June 22
Fruit and Spice Park, 24801 SW 187th Ave.
Buy tickets
This longtime tropical fruit festival rewards mango lovers who want to learn about and taste multiple varieties of the king of fruits and other in-season delights. Mango cultivars from Alphonse to Zill are on display, with experts on hand to explain everything you need to know about growing, caring for and eating mangos and other fruits, like jackfruit, avocado, passion fruit and other tropical fruits. Food vendors, music and arts and crafts booths make this a perfect family-friendly event. Buy tickets online for a discount.
Mango Mania
Sat., June 28, 9am
UF/IFAS Extension Miami-Dade County, 18710 SW 288th St.
Buy tickets here
The Tropical Fruit & Vegetable Society of the Redland is partnering with the Fruit & Spice Park to present this much-loved event for over 30 years. Join us to learn more about the delicious world of mangos with Dr. Jonathan Crane. The program will begin with a 1½ hour presentation, followed by a question-and-answer period, and then a sampling of locally grown mangos. Take home mangos in your bag given at registration. (The bag holds about 12-14 small mangos like Pickering or 8-10 medium-size mangos like Glenn.) Keep your name tag to visit the Fruit & Spice Park for free for the rest of the day. Registration: $60 online, $75 at the door.
Key Lime Festival: Love & Limes
Wed., July 2-Sun., July 6
Key West
Key Lime Festival
Five days of culinary fun over the Fourth of July weekend throughout Key West: Mini Key Lime pie classes, Key Lime Rum Tasting, Key Lime Life Dinner, bike tours, Key Lime Pie Hop, Key Lime tree planting class, Key Lime Vendor Village, pie-eating championship, brunch, historical coffee talk, Key Lime Sip & Stroll, Sloppy Joe’s Ultimate Key Lime Pie Smash Party, J.F. Haden’s Battle of the Bartenders and other events.
Fairchild Mango Festival
Sat., July 12-Sun., July 13
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Coral Gables
10901 Old Cutler Rd.
Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden
Two days of celebration of the king of fruits, featuring cooking demos, tree and fruit sales, tastings, cocktails, lectures, live music, lawn games and other activities. On Sunday, the Mango Brunch brings together top chefs and an all-mango menu. Admission is $24.95 for adults, $17.95 for seniors and $11.95 for children 3-11. Mango brunch, mango tastings, cocktails and La Tropical Beer tasting tickets are additional.
Tropical Fruit Hunting Tours
Grimal Grove, Big Pine Key
258 Cunningham Lane
Grimal Grove
Explore this magnificent tropical fruit oasis, created by the enigmatic Adolf Grimal in the mid-20th century and then abandoned after his death in 1997. In 2011, Patrick Garvey discovered this hidden gem and restored the neglected botanical garden. Book a guided tour ($38), learn about their rare fruit trees and breadfruit collection and taste what’s in season.
Tropical Currency
Pay in mangos! Here are local establishments looking for mangos in return for food and drink.
Peel Soft Serve, Miami Shores
WHAT: Bring in 5 pounds of mangos in exchange for a small Peel bowl, your choice of swirl and a drizzle. Limit is 20 lbs. They’ll weigh them and give you a gift card. No mangos with broken skin or animal bites, but bruises and blemishes are just fine.
WHERE: 175 NE 96 St.
MORE INFO: Peel Soft Serve
Bodega: South Beach, Coconut Grove, Coral Gables
WHAT: Bring a fresh mango to Bodega Miami and get a free Mango Tango cocktail made with Dobel Diamante, 1800 Coconut, mango puree, pineapple juice, and lime juice.
WHERE: Coconut Grove, 3419 Main Highway; Coral Gables, 317 Miracle Mile; South Beach, 1220 16th Street
MORE INFO: Bodega
Tomorrowland, Miami
WHAT: Normally $14, the Spicy Nikki (also lovingly called The OG) is made with house-infused jalapeño and pineapple Jose Cuervo Tradicional, fresh lime, agave, and mango purée. Bring in a ripe mango, and Tomorrowland will trade you one for one — a juicy mango for a refreshing Spicy Nikki.
WHERE: 1368 N Miami Ave.
MORE INFO: Tomorrowland
Zak the Baker, Wynwood
WHAT: This year’s 3rd Annual Mango Trade 6 Mangos = 1 Loaf of Bread. The rules: – One trade per person per day.
Mangos must be larger than a closed fist. No bruised, cut, bitten, or overripe fruit
.
WHEN: June 1 – June 30
WHERE: 295 NW 26 St.
MORE INFO: Zak the Baker
Mangos on the Menu
Michael’s Genuine, Design District
WHAT: Dishes using locally sourced mangos are everywhere at Michael’s Genuine. “As we come out of our proper growing season (tomatoes, eggplant, peppers, cucumbers etc.) mangos give us this amazing opportunity to play,” says chef Michael Schwartz. ”I’ll often unload hundreds of pounds of fruit onto the MGFD team and challenge them to feature it in all sorts of ways.” Some of those items include:
Wood Roasted Prawns brushed with a homemade mango habanero glaze served with a green mango salad, peanuts in a nước chấm sauce
• Red Snapper Crudo topped with local mango, basil, coconut milk, chili oil and crispy rice
• Cheese & Corn Samosa served with a spicy mango chutney (offered in their new 3-course prix-fixe menu for $49)
• Market Special – Beefeater gin, St. Germain, mango shrub, coconut water, lime
• Mango Tres Leche – Fresh mango, coconut creme (offered in their new 3-course prix-fixe menu for $49)
WHEN: Now through the end of mango season
WHERE: 130 NE 40 St.
MORE INFO: Michael’s Genuine
Classes
Preserving the Harvest
Fruit and Spice Park
Sat., June 14
miamidade.gov/fruitandspicepark/events.page
What to do with your tropical bounty? Preserve it! Master techniques like canning, drying and more to enjoy fruits year-round. ($35 adults, $28 children, members $10, includes park admission).
Jelly & Jam Making Class
Fruit and Spice Park
Sat., Aug. 9
miamidade.gov/fruitandspicepark/events.page
Transform your tropical fruits into delicious preserves. ($35 adults, $28 children, members $10, includes park admission).
Mango Multimedia
When Mangos Last in my Backyard Bloom’d
Thursdays through Sundays from June 14-Aug. 9
Green Space Miami, 7200 Biscayne Blvd.
Free and open to the public
RSVP here
Like any good South Floridian, filmmaker Jayme Kaye Gershen is obsessed with mangos. Over the summer, Gershen – a 2024 Knight New Work recipient – filmed people eating mangos at the Legion Park Farmers Market. She turned it into a 13-minute film called Mango Movie, which premiered at the New Orleans Film Festival and then headed to DOC NYC. Locals can now see the short as part of Gershen’s immersive exhibit called When Mangos Last in my Backyard Bloom’d featuring the poetry of Miami Dade College professor Carmen Misé. Visitors can see the movie, images, a sculpture made from mango pits, poetry and – yes – real mangos to taste. “You’ll be able to feel, see, hear, smell, be a part of it, bite and write,” says Gershen – and get a fresh sense of how this beloved fruit connects everyone in the South Florida community.
