East Las Olas closes from SE 6th to SE 11th Avenue from 4 a.m. Oct. 17 to 11 p.m. Oct. 18 for the 39th Las Olas Art Fair. SW 2nd Street also closes Oct. 17.

East Las Olas Boulevard will close to traffic for two days next weekend for the 39th Annual Las Olas Art Fair. A block of SW 2nd Street downtown will close on the Saturday for the Riverwalk Fall Festival.

The city published both closures in traffic advisories this week. Both events are free.

The closures

Street Between Closed
East Las Olas Boulevard SE 6th Avenue and SE 11th Avenue 4 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, to 11 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18
SW 2nd Street SW 5th Avenue and SW 4th Avenue 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17

The Las Olas closure is in the city’s art fair traffic advisory. The SW 2nd Street closure is in its Riverwalk Fall Festival advisory. The city said to expect congestion and allow extra travel time. Neither advisory names a detour. The city’s line for questions is 954-828-8000.

Las Olas Art Fair

The fair runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17, and Sunday, Oct. 18, according to the Las Olas Association’s event listing. Admission is free. Howard Alan Events runs it in partnership with the association.

The listing says artists from across the country will show work including:

  • painting and sculpture
  • photography
  • jewelry, glass and ceramics
  • mixed media

The association lists two more fair weekends this season, Jan. 9-10 and March 6-7.

Riverwalk Fall Festival

The 10th Annual Riverwalk Fall Festival runs from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, at Esplanade Park on the New River, according to Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale, which organizes it. Admission is free, and the organizer says the festival draws more than 2,000 people each year.

Activities listed by the organizer include:

  • pumpkin painting and pumpkin bowling
  • sand art and themed games
  • food trucks, local vendors and entertainment

Registration through Eventbrite or Facebook is optional. The organizer says it lets them send details before the event.

Also on Sundays: the NoBe block party

A separate, recurring closure is already in place on Sunday evenings. The westbound lane on the north side of NE 33rd Street, from A1A to NE 33rd Avenue, is closed from 4 to 11 p.m. every Sunday through Dec. 27 for the NoBe Block Party. Angled parking there is restricted, according to the city’s traffic advisory.

What it means for you

  • Driving to the beach on Oct. 17-18: East Las Olas is closed between SE 6th and SE 11th avenues for the whole weekend, including overnight. The city has not named a detour, so allow extra time.
  • Downtown on Saturday, Oct. 17: SW 2nd Street is closed by Esplanade Park from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Going to both: the fair and the festival overlap from noon to 4 p.m. on the Saturday. Esplanade Park is on the New River downtown, and the fair is on East Las Olas.

Our pages on Las Olas Boulevard, parking and getting around and fall festivals and pumpkin patches have more. The week’s events are on things to do this weekend.