Alabama Renaissance Faire

The official Alabama Renaissance Faire is held annually on the fourth weekend of October in Florence. It features authentic costumes, medieval games, musicians playing authentic instruments, artisans and merchants, public lectures, and dance programs.

Website: www.alarenfaire.org
E-Mail: bwarren@fcs.k12.al.us

Arts Alive

Arts Alive is an annual fine arts and crafts festival held at the Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts in Florence. It features a juried art show as well as artist booths, which are set up in beautiful Wilson Park.

Phone: (256) 766-1445
Website: www.artsalivealabama.com

Festival of the Singing River

The Festival of the Singing River is an annual festival held in mid-October in McFarland Park in Florence. It celebrates Native American culture through ceremonial dances, story telling, and arts and crafts.

Phone: (256) 760-6416

Helen Keller Festival

The Helen Keller Festival is an annual festival held each summer in honor of Helen Keller, whose birthplace, Ivy Green, is located in Tuscumbia. The festival includes arts and crafts, a parade, concerts, athletic events, a car show, and The Miracle Worker, a play dramatizing Anne Sullivan’s efforts to help Helen Keller communicate with the outside world.

Website: www.helenkellerfestival.com
E-mail: info@helenkellerfestival.com

Muscle Shoals Music CityFest

The Muscle Shoals Music CityFest is an annual celebration of the rich musical heritage of Muscle Shoals. Events include live music, an arts show, historic displays, a car/truck show, and a bicycle tour.

Phone: (256) 386-9200

NCAA Division II National Championship Game

The Shoals is proud to be the host of the championship game for NCAA Division II football. Since 1986, Braly Stadium in Florence has been the site of exciting gridiron clashes as teams have battled for the right to be number one.

Website: www.d2championship.com

Spirit of Freedom Celebration

The annual Spirit of Freedom Celebration is held on the 4th of July in Florence. The celebration features live music and a large fireworks show on the banks of the Tennessee River in McFarland Park.

Trail of Tears Commemoration

This is an annual motorcycle ride from Chattanooga, Tennessee to Florence to commemorate the journey of American Indians who were forced to move from their homelands in the Southeast to reservations in Oklahoma in 1838. It attracts tens of thousands of motorcyclists each year.

Website: www.trailoftears-remembrance.org

W.C. Handy Music Festival

The W.C. Handy Music Festival is a week-long tribute to Florence native, W.C. Handy, known as the “Father of the Blues.” The festival, which began in 1982, offers more than 200 events, including musical performances of rhythm and blues, jazz, soul, gospel, and contemporary music. Past performers at the festival include Dizzy Gillespie, Roberta Flack, Manhattan Transfer, Nancy Wilson, Diane Schuur, Percy Sledge, Ellis Marsalis, and others.

Phone: (256) 766-7642
Website: www.wchandymusicfestival.org

Visit the Colbert County Tourism and Convention Bureau's website or the Florence/Lauderdale Tourism website for more detailed information about these and other attractions in The Shoals.