Orlando celebrates Black history month

Black History Month events in Orlando are set to kick off and continue throughout February, featuring a dynamic lineup of commemorations and celebrations honoring Black history and culture.

Expect limited-time exhibitions and live performances plus year-round cultural attractions, historic tours and thriving Black-owned businesses to visit.

Additional information on Orlando’s Black History Month programming can be found at VisitOrlando.com.  

Black History Month events

Central Florida locals and visitors can pay tribute to African American culture through exclusive musical performances, art exhibits and much more.

During the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts (Jan. 16 – Feb. 2), guests can discover vibrant works created in honor of Black History Month, featuring unique artistic interpretations of beloved Disney scenes and characters. The celebration also includes a musical component, with DISNEY ON BROADWAY stars performing songs they helped make famous, like The Lion King’s Jelani Remy and Kissy Simmons, Tarzan’s Anastacia McCleskey and Aladdin’s James Monroe Iglehart.

The annual ZORA! Outdoor Festival of the Arts, (Jan. 30 – Feb. 1) is a three-day cultural celebration that transforms Historic Eatonville – the first African American incorporated municipality in the United States – into a vibrant open-air museum featuring live performances, an international marketplace, plus arts and craft booths.

Acclaimed vocalist Brandon Martin will present Lift Every Voice and Sing! (Feb. 3) – a stirring and uplifting portrait of the African American experience – at the Judson’s Live venue at The Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. Visitors can enjoy other performances including the free MLK Gospel Concert (Feb. 22), hip-hop DJ and Grammy Award-winning producer Pete Rock (Feb. 20), New Orleans-style jazz group Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue (Feb. 21) and jazz vibraphonist Joel Ross (Feb. 26).

The African Americans and the Arts Exhibition (Feb. 3 – March 31) at the Terrace Gallery at Orlando City Hall presents an opportunity for local artists to showcase African American history and celebrate the many lasting contributions Black Americans have had on visual arts, performing arts, literature, film, music and cultural movements. This year’s exhibition showcases 48 works by 28 local visual artists, inspired by the 2026 national Black History Month theme, “A Century of Black History Commemorations.”

The NBA’s Orlando Magic (Feb. 5) will honor the history, achievements and resilience of the Black community with special performances and cultural recognitions during their upcoming game against the Brooklyn Nets at Kia Center.

The Orange County Regional History Center’s Black History Month commemoration will include History Alive: Soul of the Sunshine State (Feb. 7), a special tribute to the trailblazers who shaped the Central Florida region; Brechner Speaker Series (Feb. 8), tracing the Nightingale family’s journey; and Sensory Sunday (Feb. 15), celebrating Black animators and storytellers through sensory-friendly activities.

Orlando Family Stage presents Tiara’s Hat Parade (select dates, Feb. 7-22), a family-friendly production celebrating Black culture and innovation based on the children’s book of the same name, which tells the tale of young Tiara, who uses kindness, creativity, artistry and community to help her mother to revive her hat-making business.

Timucua Amplifies Black Voices is a four-day event (Feb. 13-14, 20-21) at the Timucua Arts Foundation in downtown Orlando’s SoDo District that will offer performances by a variety of Black American artists, including jazz musicians, R&B singers, classical music groups and a resident visual artist.

Year-round African American cultural attractions

Beyond Black History Month, Orlando offers opportunities to explore African American culture and local history throughout the year.

Just outside the tourism districts, the historic town of Eatonville – home to celebrated author Zora Neale Hurston – was one of the country’s first self-governing African American communities. Today, it honors Hurston’s memory with the Zora Neale Hurston National Museum of Fine Arts and the annual ZORA! Festival (Jan. 7 – Feb. 1) with other events throughout the year, including HATitude Cultural Flair (Oct. 17). The Hurston also displays work by legendary and emerging artists of African descent.

The only Commercial National Registered Historic District in Orlando, Parramore is Orlando’s oldest and largest African American neighborhood with a diverse collection of historic buildings like the Wells’ Built Hotel, now the Wells’ Built Museum of African American History and Culture, dedicated to preserving the memory of Orlando’s African American heritage.

The Orange County Regional History Center features a permanent African American history exhibit highlighting the triumphs and tragedies of African Americans in Central Florida’s past, along with luminous paintings of Florida’s Highwaymen, a group of acclaimed African American landscape artists.

A community founded for black families in 1881, Historic Hannibal Square is home to the Hannibal Square Heritage Center, which welcomes visitors to explore the district’s origins and offers guided walking tours of the historic landmarks of “West Winter Park,” describing the hardships and the triumphs of the African American community from the 1900s to the present.

Visitors can also experience small-business shopping, free yoga, food and music during the SOKO Marketplace every Saturday morning, where proceeds support the development of culturally relevant programming for the historic African American community of Hannibal Square.

Also at the Hannibal Square Heritage Center is the permanent home for the Heritage Collection: Photographs and Oral Histories of Winter Park, documenting the lives, hardships and triumphs of the city’s African American community through archival photos and recorded interviews.

Visitors and locals can join Juneteenth (June 19) celebrations throughout Orlando, particularly in Eatonville and Hannibal Square. Also known as Freedom Day, Jubilee Day, Liberation Day and Emancipation Day, Juneteenth commemorates the official end of slavery in the United States.

Black-owned restaurants and businesses around Orlando

With an exploding food scene, Orlando is home to a multitude of Black-owned restaurants offering flavors across various cuisines.

BBQ and southern food fans can dine at Pete’s Famous BBQ in Downtown Orlando on the weekends. For seafood or wings, visitors can support Stonington’s Fried Shrimp in Metro West. Chicken Fire in Orlando specializes in Nashville-style hot chicken.

For Caribbean-inspired eats, foodies can enjoy Mark’s Jamaican Bar & Grill or Virgin Island Thyme in East Orlando, or Oley’s Kitchen in Downtown Orlando.

Those looking for soul food can visit Nikki’s Place (featured in Orlando’s Kitchens: Recipes and Stories From Our Neighborhoods), and P&D Soul Food Kitchen in Downtown Orlando, and Soul Food Fantasy on Orange Blossom Trail.

For a healthier kick, there’s Vitality Bowls in the Dr. Phillips area. And for a sweeter option, head to downtown Orlando for the award-winning Sister Honey’s serving all kinds of sugary delights, including pies, cookies and pastries.

Downtown Orlando’s The District GastroBar pays homage to old world American taste and cuisine where legendary musicians like Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles and B.B. King performed at the South Street Casino that once stood nearby.

The Pretty Peacock Paperie specializes in custom stationery and invitations in Winter Park, while the Naked Bar Soap Co. offers all-natural bath and body care products made from sustainable ingredients. Bloom in Glory is a full-service floral design company.

More on Orlando happenings can be found at VisitOrlando.com. 

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