The Hernando County Fair has been running since 1950 — 76 years and counting — and still pulls around 25,000 visitors to the Hernando County Fairgrounds each late April. It’s the county’s biggest recurring event by a wide margin, but it’s far from the only one worth building a calendar around.
The Tangerine Festival is the newest addition, and it’s already outgrown its debut: the inaugural event ran February 2025, and by its second year in February 2026 it was drawing thousands to downtown Brooksville for tangerine-themed food, local vendors, and live music across two stages — a third annual is already confirmed for February 2027. The Florida Nature Coast Bike Fest has a similar growth story, evolving from a monthly “Brooksville Bike Rally” in 2018 into a three-day event with 125-plus vendors and roughly 14,000 attendees at Hernando Park downtown. Come December, the Brooksville Christmas Parade (Kiwanis-sponsored, on its 52nd year) and Brooksville Main Street’s month-long Christmas in Brooksville programming — recognized as one of Florida’s best Small Town Saturday events — turn downtown into the county’s holiday anchor.
Between a 76-year-old county fair and a festival that tripled in size in two years, Hernando County’s event calendar is genuinely still growing, not just repeating the same handful of dates.
Good to know: The Hernando County Fair runs late April at the Fairgrounds, 6436 Broad St, Brooksville. The Tangerine Festival runs in February in downtown Brooksville.