WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — SunFest, the popular music festival that's been rocking downtown West Palm Beach for decades, announced Wednesday it will make a "significant shift" next year, including new dates and, potentially, a new location.
Festival officials posted on Instagram that the weekend-long event "will no longer take place on the traditional first weekend in May," adding that "after much consideration and evaluation, we are exploring new dates for 2025, fresh venues, and formats."
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In the post, officials admitted they've "faced challenges and embraced change."
"We are not saying SunFest is going away; just taking some time to create something new and fresh," the post said.
SunFest, which first splashed onto the scene in West Palm Beach in 1983, takes place annually along the Intracoastal Waterway.
WPTV's Zitlali Solache spoke with residents downtown. “It’s going to be very different than the SunFest I’ve gone to the past few years,” stated festival-goer Matthew Mitrani.
Mitrani attended SunFest two years ago and recalled the changes SunFest has undergone since then.
"Before I mean, yeah three stages they used to have. They’d have water bars and stuff," shared Mitrani. “It’d be really nice to see the artists come back and all the vendors.”
Some have concerns, including local artists like Katherine Torri Villa, who were hoping to perform downtown.
“It’s a bummer really for artists like me that are looking forward to a festival that they can be a part of," stated Villa. “I’m just hoping that we can figure out a way to make it stay.”
"Our goal is to preserve all the aspects of SunFest that make it so special, continuing to support our local community while evolving to meet the future," SunFest posted on Instagram. "Our mission, being a deep-rooted non-profit organization is to continue to give back along with supporting art, local artists, and the live & local music culture."
For more information about SunFest, click here.
