The Inverness Art Festival Stays Open After Dark This Year: How Locals Can Spend the Weekend Downtown

Last November, the city's artist information listed the Inverness Festival of the Arts as a 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. affair. This year the city calendar runs Saturday, Nov. 7, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Three extra hours on a November Saturday carry the festival past sundown. Programs Director Kristi Brown told the City Council that the goal is to keep people downtown after the sun goes down, the Citrus County Chronicle reported.

The festival is now built to pass the evening to Courthouse Square, and the restaurants waiting there aren't the same ones that were open at last year's festival.

Three more hours change what kind of event this is

In its June 23 announcement, the city called the show juried and added fine crafts alongside fine arts, along with live performances, interactive exhibits and artist demonstrations. The dates moved up too.

The city calendar lists this year's festival as free. Brown's pitch to the council pointed the same way. "Come for the art, but stay for the experience," she said, as reported by the Chronicle. She described the goal as something families do together, more than a walk past art booths.

What fills the daylight hours

The daytime program covers most of downtown's landmark buildings, so the festival reaches past the booth rows. According to the Chronicle's report on the council presentation:

• The historic courthouse hosts folk art and quilt exhibits, plus a new exhibit of art by teachers.
• The Valerie Theatre shows local student artwork, and the Lecanto School of Arts screens student animations.
• Live art demonstrations run all weekend, so you can watch artists work in real time.
• Flame art and marble making are new this year, with artists working over live flames.
• Artist Ben Olsen leads a "sit and zip" session where adults and kids paint and draw alongside him.
• Local school bands, performing arts groups and community organizations perform throughout the weekend.

"It's going to be for the kids and the adults," Brown said, according to the Chronicle. "We'll have something for all ages for everybody, and it's free."

The daytime schedule leans toward families and students. That matters for the evening, because the city is planning a different crowd after dark.

After dusk, the entertainment district rules apply

Brown said the Saturday evening will have a more relaxed, adult-oriented feel. The entertainment district will be open, downtown restaurants and businesses will serve food and drinks, and there will be live jazz and more art.

The district has existed for several years, but a festival night may be the first time some neighbors use it. In the Chronicle's coverage, the original ordinance is 2021-771, and the district began allowing outdoor beer and wine in 2022. Ordinance 2024-839 then added liquor and distilled spirits for downtown functions.

The practical part is the cup. The Chronicle says drinks can go outdoors only in the city's approved, distinctive cups, and cans, bottles and glassware stay inside the vendor's premises. The city's own notices for downtown events have said the same thing: no outside alcohol, and any alcohol must be in entertainment district cups. The city also keeps an Entertainment District page with the official details. This is a general summary, not legal advice, so check the city's page or call the Parks and Recreation office if you have a question about the rules.

The downtown taking over the evening has changed since last November

The evening plan depends on who is open on and around the Square, and that lineup has shifted this year.

Artman's Smokehouse is the newest. The barbecue restaurant took over the former Angelo's Pizzeria & Ristorante at 301 W. Main St. and was scheduled to open Tuesday, Sept. 1, per the Chronicle's Comings & Goings column. It announced hours of 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. By October, Artman's was sponsoring a dinner-for-two prize in the city's "Small Town Done Right" photo contest. If those hours hold, the kitchen stays open an hour past the festival's 7 p.m. close.

Hometown Deli at 103 N. Apopka Ave. is back after being closed since April. Its reopening was set for Aug. 31, with regular breakfast and lunch hours of 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. once it got going again, according to the same Chronicle column. It closes long before the jazz starts, but it fits the morning before the festival opens at 10.

Nine State Brewery at 200 Tompkins St. has closed after about seven years downtown. "This has been an incredible journey, and we are deeply grateful for the support of our amazing customers, friends, and community," the brewery said in a Facebook announcement quoted by the Chronicle. Festival-goers who used to walk over for a pint will need a new spot this year.

Right on the Square, Twysted Vyne at 103 W. Main St. calls itself a wine bar and bistro. It lists Tuesday through Saturday hours and is promoting fall 2026 music and events. The Side Bar Tavern at 203 Courthouse Square lists hours seven days a week. Both sit inside the festival footprint, where the evening crowd is expected to stay once the booths close.

A festival in the middle of a full three weeks

The extended Saturday isn't the city's first try at a downtown evening. Small Town Saturday Night already brings free live music to the Square. What's new is pairing that evening format with the festival. From Oct. 30 through Nov. 21, the rest of the stretch keeps people downtown and at Liberty Park every few days:

1. Oct. 30, Oct. 31 and Nov. 1: Under Siege Enterprises stages Misery at the Valerie Theatre, 207 Courthouse Square, the same building that hosts student art a week later.
2. Friday, Nov. 6, 6 p.m.: Movie Night at Liberty Park, 286 N. Apopka Ave., shows Toy Story 5.
3. Saturday, Nov. 7, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Market at the Depot runs at the Depot Pavilion, 300 N. Apopka Ave., and overlaps the festival's first morning.
4. Nov. 7 and 8: Inverness Festival of the Arts, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
5. Wednesday, Nov. 11, 10 a.m.: The 34th Annual Veterans Day Parade downtown.
6. Saturday, Nov. 14, 5 to 9 p.m.: Small Town Saturday Night, with free live music on the Square.
7. Saturday, Nov. 21, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.: Farm City Festival at Liberty Park, the same morning as the month's second Market at the Depot.

The city relaunched its website on Oct. 7, with the calendar and news placed more prominently, so inverness.gov is the quickest place to check for schedule changes. For festival questions, the Parks and Recreation office is at 352-726-3913 or [email protected].

Here at That Other Laura Bush, we love watching downtown Inverness try something new, and a Saturday night of art and jazz on the Square is a good one. If all this has you wondering what a home within walking distance of Courthouse Square is worth these days, we're glad to put together a home valuation for you, and we'll save the festival chat for when we see you downtown.