"It has to be (at City Center)," Terry Fedea told The Daytona Beach News-Journal in July. Fedea is president of the Port Orange Community Trust. He was explaining why Family Days, set for Oct. 8–11, could not simply move somewhere else after a booking problem with the carnival rides. In his words, the festival "includes almost 200 vendors, a full carnival and concert operation."
So 2026 is a year off. Family Days has filled City Center every October for about three decades, with carnival rides, live music, parades and food vendors drawing tens of thousands of people. The Trust says it is planning for Family Days to return in fall 2027.
The City Center lawn is not sitting empty this October, though. Family Days was always a bundle: rides, a concert stage, a chalk-art competition, a student parade, a pet parade and a charity fundraiser on one long weekend. Take away the carnival and the other pieces come apart. Several of them return as their own events on their own dates. Following where each piece landed is the clearest way to plan the next six weeks.
The Booking Error, in Fedea's Words
Fedea told the News-Journal that "about three to four weeks ago, we were informed that the carnival had put down the wrong date in their calendar." Keeping the festival on its weekend would have meant the city holding off on starting its own project at City Center until Family Days was over. Fedea said he was told that "was not feasible." Michael Springer, the city's public information officer, put it to Hometown News Volusia in shorter terms, calling it "a scheduling conflict with Port Orange's carnival."
The coverage does not name the city project. One construction job on the City Center campus is on the city's books this fall: the City Center Sports Complex Expansion, on the former Silver Sands property next to The REC at 4651 City Center Circle. The plans call for two lighted multipurpose fields, a support building with restrooms, concessions and storage, and more parking. On June 2, staff recommended awarding the work to All State Civil Construction, Inc., with a total project budget of $3,926,911.16, including an 8% contingency.
The city's July 24 newsletter said construction was expected to begin Aug. 24, weather permitting, and to finish by the end of the year. It also said athletic programs would keep running at City Center, Coraci and Spruce Creek Road Park during the work. The bid documents allowed 270 days from notice to proceed for final completion, so the year-end date is a forecast rather than a contract deadline.
What Lands on the Old Family Days Weekend
The weekend of Oct. 8–11 is still on the city calendar, just with much smaller events. On Saturday, Oct. 10, Mojo & the Mess perform "The Village" at Lakeside at 10 a.m., and The REC shows a Halloween Family Movie Matinee at 3 p.m. Neither one tries to stand in for the festival. Together they are a fair picture of a Port Orange October weekend without the carnival.
The Chalk Festival Moves Back a Week
The biggest piece of Family Days to carry on is the street painting. The ArtHaus Foundation is holding the ArtHaus Fall Family Arts Festival on Oct. 17–18 at Port Orange City Center, 1000 City Center Circle. The 30th Annual ArtHaus Street Painting Festival is at its center, a tradition that has been part of Family Days since its earliest years. ArtHaus plans professional and amateur chalk artists, arts and crafts vendors, community groups, food vendors, family games and a large Arts & Play Zone for children. The annual student parade with local Port Orange schools is back too.
ArtHaus is clear that this is not a replacement. Its release says the festival will not replace Family Days and is meant to keep the community's traditions going during the 2026 break. Cameron Vintson, the foundation's executive director, put it this way:
"Family Days means so much more to this community than simply an event on the calendar. If we can keep the chalk artists creating, our students marching, the pets parading and our families gathering together this October, then we believe it is worth every bit of effort it will take."
ArtHaus also describes an "extremely compressed planning timeline and limited resources." It is asking sponsors, vendors, schools, volunteers and local organizations to help. That matters if you want to take part rather than just watch. The details published so far:
- Start time: The city's 2026 special event schedule lists a 9 a.m. start, with no closing time. One community calendar lists Sunday hours of 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and free admission. The city schedule gives neither, so check both with ArtHaus.
- Pet Parade: ArtHaus's registration form sets it for Saturday, Oct. 17, at 12 p.m.
- Chalk competition: The 2026 rules list 12 awards. Judges score each piece from 1 to 5 on originality, use of color, style, technique and "wow factor."
- Sunday deadlines: Artists' Choice votes are due by noon on Sunday, Oct. 18, and artwork must be finished for judging by 2:30 p.m.
Those Sunday deadlines shape the visit. Saturday is for watching the pieces go down. By Sunday afternoon you see finished work under judging. Parking guidance and the student parade's start time had not been published when this was written. The festival page at arthaus.org is the place to check.
The Rest of Fall on City Center and the River
Without one anchor weekend, City Center's fall runs as a string of separate events from different organizers. Here are the dates on the city's 2026 special event schedule from now through mid-November:
- Oct. 14, 5 p.m. Night Market at City Center, run by Specialty Pop Up Events.
- Oct. 16, 5:30 p.m. Something Wicked This Way Dance for ages 55 and up at the Adult Center.
- Oct. 17–18, from 9 a.m. ArtHaus Street Painting Festival at City Center.
- Oct. 24, 9 a.m. 321 Society Buddy Walk at Riverwalk.
- Oct. 25, 11 a.m. Specialty Pop Up Events' Port Orange Halloween Bash at City Center.
- Oct. 27–29, 6 p.m. Haunted REC at The REC.
- Oct. 30, 5 p.m. City of Port Orange Halloween Fest at City Center.
- Nov. 7, 8 a.m. Halifax Health's Halifax 5K at City Center.
- Nov. 11, 10 a.m. Veterans Day Ceremony at Veterans Park.
- Nov. 14, 7 a.m. Kat Walk Fun Walk at Riverwalk, organized by The Running Elements.
The schedule has no publication date, so check the times with each organizer before you go. City Center hosts five separate dates in October alone. Over one weekend, Family Days used to pack in the market feel, the Halloween crowd and the family midway. This year the Night Market, the Halloween Bash and Halloween Fest are spread across the month instead.
Where the Trust Still Shows Up
Family Days is the Port Orange Community Trust's main fundraiser. Since 1995, the Trust says it has put more than $1.5 million into charitable programs, nonprofit partners, scholarships and food pantry help. Fedea said the Trust will keep up that work during the break and will still take part in the Christmas Parade, the city's Trunk or Treat program and other holiday events.
The December calendar shows where. Christmas in the Park is at City Center on Dec. 5 at 5 p.m. The Holiday Parade runs on Dunlawton on Dec. 6 at 2 p.m. The POCT Gingerbread House Event is at Lakeside on Dec. 12 at 9 a.m. For anyone who has volunteered with or donated to Family Days, the gingerbread morning is the Trust's own event on this year's calendar.
The Waterfront Project That Did Finish
The City Center fields are still a work in progress, but one city project on the river side is already done. The Frank Scofield Boat Ramps at Causeway Park reopened in September after a ribbon-cutting with community leaders and local, state and federal law enforcement. The city says the docks were rebuilt to better withstand storms, and the improved ramp makes launching easier. The project cost $1.8 million. Grants from ECHO, the Florida Inland Navigation District and the Community Development Block Grant program covered $1.6 million of it.
So the fall is split. Boaters have Causeway Park back now, ahead of the cooler months. The city's July forecast had the new fields beside The REC finishing by the end of the year. Family Days, by the Trust's own account, is aiming for fall 2027.
Here at The Cook Group, we follow Port Orange's civic calendar the way our clients live with it, from the chalk festival to the boat ramps to the fields still going in near The REC. If you want to talk through what's changing around City Center and along the Halifax River, Schedule a Private Consultation.
