Today, Thursday, October 29, is day two of the 67th Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show. Until Sunday, the yellow Water Taxi boats are not running their usual New River route. They stop only at boat show sites: Bahia Mar Yachting Center, Hall of Fame Marina, Las Olas Marina, Pier Sixty-Six Marina, Superyacht Village at Pier Sixty-Six South and the Broward County Convention Center. Most of that is beachside or right at Port Everglades.
Four days after the show closes, the city's biggest free events move a few miles inland to a single park. Esplanade Park, at 400 SW 2nd Street on the New River, hosts three free events between November 5 and November 14. The ride question doesn't change much. The boats, garages and train station you'd use this week for the show are the same ones that get you to the river next week.
This week, the waterfront runs on show logistics
Water Taxi's boat show page says plainly that regular service is suspended during the show. Here's what's running in its place through Sunday:
- Water Taxi show stops: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, then 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Sunday, November 1. A daily pass is $15 and a 5-day pass is $65. Children under 5 ride free.
- Convention Center parking: The show lists 3,000 spaces at a flat $40 a day. The Convention Center's own parking page puts the standard daily maximum at $25 since October 1, 2026, so on show days the same garage costs $15 more.
- Shuttles: The Purple and Light Green lines connect the Convention Center, Bahia Mar and Superyacht Village. A Blue line runs between West Marine Center and the Convention Center. A Red line runs from Brightline's Fort Lauderdale station to the Riverside Hotel.
- King tides: The City of Fort Lauderdale expects some roadway flooding from October 24 through 31, which covers every show day except Sunday. The city asks residents to report impassable roads to its Customer Support Center at 954-828-8000.
The Red shuttle is the one that carries into November. In its fall events roundup, Brightline tells riders to take the free station shuttle to the Riverside Hotel and transfer to the Water Taxi there. That puts boat show traffic onto the river downtown, the same stretch that becomes the main event space once the show packs up.
Sunday's last show boat runs at 6 p.m. Then the river turns back toward downtown.
Water Taxi has not posted the date regular service resumes, so check its site before planning a boat ride to Esplanade Park next week. Once the regular route is running, Water Taxi lists service seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., with boats every 35 to 45 minutes. The central stops include F1 Riverside Hotel/Stranahan House, F2 Shops & Restaurants at Las Olas, F3 15th Street Fisheries and F4 Hilton Marina/Convention Center.
Regular fares work differently from the show pass. Water Taxi's FAQ currently lists $38 for an adult all-route pass, $18 for ages 5 to 11, free for children under 5, and $25 for an adult evening pass after 5 p.m. Two of the three November events start or keep going after 5 p.m. For those nights, the evening pass costs $13 less than the all-day pass and covers the hours that count.
Ten days, one park, three free events
| Date | Event | Hours at Esplanade Park | What's on |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thu., Nov. 5 | Light Up Lauderdale "Get Lit" | 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. | Lighting ceremony at 6:30, Belles of Harmony 7 to 8:30, kids zone, Santa |
| Sat., Nov. 7 | Second Annual Downtown Day of the Dead | 3 to 8 p.m. | Costume stroll at 6 p.m., Revolution Live block party 5 to 11 p.m. |
| Sat., Nov. 14 | 6th Annual Riverwalk International Food Festival | 12 to 4 p.m. | Food from restaurants, vendors and culinary artisans across South Florida |
November 5 starts the holiday lights
The city's Parks and Recreation page calls Get Lit the official start of the holiday season. The same night launches Light Up Lauderdale, a yearly 10-week run of holiday lights along the New River. Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale lists admission as free and open to the public. The lighting ceremony is at 6:30 p.m. The kids zone runs the whole evening, and Belles of Harmony sing from 7 to 8:30. The 10 weeks matter more than the one night. Once the lights are on, every walk along the Riverwalk through the holidays passes them.
November 7 has the longest hours of the three
The Downtown Day of the Dead festival runs at Esplanade Park from 3 to 8 p.m. At 6 p.m., a costume stroll leaves from SW 2nd Street and the Riverwalk. Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale describes the stroll as a procession of Día de los Muertos attire, with Catrina costumes, face paint and creative tributes, plus Mexican food and drinks. The schedule includes remarks from the Mayor and representatives of the Mexican Consulate, mariachi music and face painting. After that, the party moves to Revolution Live and SW 3rd Avenue, with food, drinks and music until 11 p.m. That's an eight-hour window, so the park is the afternoon part and the block party is the late-night part.
November 14 is the daytime one
The International Food Festival runs from noon to 4 p.m. Riverwalk lists Caribbean, Latin American, European, Asian and Middle Eastern food from restaurants, food vendors and culinary artisans around the region. It's the only one of the three that ends before sunset, so you won't need the evening Water Taxi pass for it.
Getting to 400 SW 2nd Street without the show shuttles
The October 17 Riverwalk Fall Festival shows what to expect from street closures. For that Saturday, the city closed SW 2nd Street from SW 5th Avenue to SW 4th Avenue from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. For November 5 and 7, check the city's Events Explorer and Impact Dashboard, which tracks road and bridge closures and parking impacts in real time.
You have four ways to get there:
- Riverwalk Center Garage at 150 SE 2nd Street, listed by the city at $3 an hour.
- City Hall Garage at 100 N. Andrews Avenue, listed at $4 an hour.
- Brightline Fort Lauderdale at 101 NW 2nd Avenue. In its fall roundup, Brightline lists Esplanade Park as a 10-minute walk from the station.
- Water Taxi to F1 Riverside Hotel/Stranahan House or F2 Shops & Restaurants at Las Olas, once regular service is back, on the $25 adult evening pass after 5 p.m.
At Riverwalk Center's listed rate, a three-hour evening at Get Lit costs $9 in parking. The same three hours at City Hall Garage costs $12. Garage rates and Water Taxi fares come from the operators' current pages and can change, so check them before you head out.
The river lights are the first of several
Light Up Lauderdale is the first entry on the city's holiday lights page, not the only one. The same page lists Light Up the Galt, Light Up the Beach, Light Up Sistrunk, the Menorah Lighting Celebration and Light Up Carter Park. Each of those spreads the season into a different part of the city.
If boat show week and the downtown events have you thinking about which part of Fort Lauderdale fits your days best, whether that's near the river, the beach or a Brightline stop, Red Pin Realty is happy to talk it through. We follow these neighborhoods all year, not just during the show. Schedule a Free Market Consultation and we'll walk you through how life near Esplanade Park compares with the rest of the city.
