Starting tonight, Thursday, Oct. 29, the white gates on Stadium Parkway are open. Across from Space Coast Stadium, the 38-acre fairgrounds at Space Coast Daily Park, 5775 Stadium Parkway, open their parking lots at 5 p.m. for the first of 18 straight days of the Space Coast State Fair. The fair runs through Sunday, Nov. 15.
The fair is only one piece of a crowded month. A youth baseball state championship, a Thanksgiving tournament, a county intersection project near Viera Elementary, and three new retail spots all fall on or just off the same road between now and early December. Their schedules are published, so you can see ahead of time which days will be crowded and which nights will be cheap and quiet.
The month at a glance
| Dates | What's happening | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 29 – Nov. 15 | Space Coast State Fair, open daily | 5775 Stadium Parkway |
| Oct. 31 | Last day of Boo at the Zoo | Brevard Zoo |
| Early November | New Publix forecast to open | Viera Promenade, Murrell Road and Berglund Lane |
| Nov. 7 | Jazzoo, 7–11 p.m. | Brevard Zoo |
| Nov. 11 | Free fair admission for veterans | 5775 Stadium Parkway |
| Nov. 14–15 | Fair's closing weekend and USSSA East Coast Florida State Championship | 5775 and 5800 Stadium Parkway |
| Nov. 26 | Wild Turkey Trot 3K, 7:30–9 a.m. | Brevard Zoo |
| Nov. 27–29 | USSSA Thanksgiving Super NIT | 5800 Stadium Parkway |
| December | Cuddington Drive turn-lane phase expected to finish | Stadium Parkway and Cuddington Drive |
| Dec. 6 | Santa Paws pet photos, 11 a.m.–3 p.m. | Slow and Low Bar-B-Que, 5490 Stadium Parkway |
The two tournament weekends sit at 5800 Stadium Parkway, and the fair sits right across the street. Weekday fair hours also start late, which shapes the rest of the month.
Weeknights are the cheap way in
Fair hours change a lot by day. Monday through Thursday the gates are usually open 5–10 p.m. Friday runs 5 p.m. to midnight, Saturday 1–11:30 p.m., and Sunday 1–10 p.m. There are two exceptions: Veterans Day, Wednesday, Nov. 11, runs 1–10 p.m., and Thursday, Nov. 12, runs until 11 p.m. Weekends add about eight extra hours a day of people coming and going on Stadium Parkway. A weekday visit starts after most of the workday traffic has cleared.
Pricing follows the same pattern. Gate admission is $10 and covers the free shows. An unlimited-ride armband costs $25 Monday through Thursday and $30 Friday through Sunday. Single ride tickets are $1 each, 24 for $20, or 45 for $35. Each weeknight also has its own discount, all listed on the fair's fall schedule:
- Mondays: Moms and seniors over 65 get in free. They also buy one armband at the gate and get a second one free.
- Tuesdays: Teachers with valid ID get in free all day, and students get in free from 5–7 p.m. Teachers also get a buy-one, get-one armband offer at the gate.
- Wednesdays: Dads and first responders get in free, with a buy-one, get-one armband offer at the gate.
- Thursdays: Women get buy-one, get-one admission at the gate.
- Fridays: Midnight Madness starts at 8 p.m. A $25 combo at the main entrance covers admission and unlimited rides until midnight.
A few dates have their own deals. Health First Health Plans members and associates get free admission and shows, rides not included, on the Sundays of Nov. 1, 8, and 15, with ID requirements. Veterans get discounted admission every day, and on Wednesday, Nov. 11, Veterans Day, they get in free plus a buy-one, get-one armband offer. If you see a different offer listed elsewhere on the fair's site, the Oct. 14 fall schedule is the most recent detailed calendar.
Parking is $5 cash per vehicle for the day. If you keep your wristband and parking ticket, you can leave and come back the same day. Bring cash. If you're coming north from the Wickham Road side, the fair's directions take you up Lake Andrew Drive, left onto Judge Fran Jamieson Way, right onto Stadium Parkway, and about a mile north to the white gates. From the north, it's a left turn east into the fairgrounds.
What $10 covers
The free shows explain why the weekends draw bigger crowds. Pro Bull Riding, a one-hour Space Coast Rodeo show, runs only on opening weekend: Friday, Oct. 30, at 8 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 31, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 1, at 3 p.m. Lucha Libre Pro Wrestling has 9 p.m. shows only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday of each of the three weekends.
Other shows run throughout the fair: The McIntyre Family Circus, Squawk the Amazing Bird Show from "America's Got Talent," Benjamin Jackson's Hypnosis Show, Hillbilly Bob & Old Ruthie, Angela's Petting Zoo, pony rides, The Foam Frenzy, stilt walker Diana Rose, and more than 35 rides. The Haunted House opens after dark. The Michael Jackson Halloween Thriller Tribute fits opening week, since Halloween falls on the fair's first Saturday.
On Oct. 31, your Halloween options include a Thriller tribute and a haunted house on Stadium Parkway, and the final day of Boo at the Zoo, which includes themed trick-or-treat stations with Zoo admission.
The Nov. 14–15 weekend has the most going on
The fair's closing weekend is the same weekend USSSA holds its East Coast Florida State Championship for 8U through 14U teams at the Space Coast Complex, 5800 Stadium Parkway. The two venues face each other across the road.
The fair adds extra reasons to show up that weekend. On Saturday, Nov. 14, kids under 11 get in free from 1–2 p.m. On Sunday, Nov. 15, admission is two-for-one at the gate from 1–2 p.m. That Sunday is also the last Health First member day and the fair's final day. Lucha Libre wraps up with 9 p.m. shows both nights.
Each venue has its own parking. The fair uses its white-gated lots, and the USSSA complex uses its own color-coded lots. You'll still drive the same stretch of road for either one. If your weekend errands usually take you past the stadium, try to get them done before 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Cuddington Drive work continues through the fair
On Oct. 19, Brevard County Public Works started work at Stadium Parkway and Cuddington Drive, next to Viera Elementary at 8300 Stadium Parkway. According to Viera Voice, the first phase builds new northbound and southbound left-turn lanes inside the existing medians. The southbound lane on the north side goes in first, followed by the northbound lane on the south side.
The impact on daily trips should be small. No vehicle lane closures are expected. Milling and resurfacing happen at night, outside school hours. The crosswalk next to the active work area is closed, and pedestrians are directed to the crosswalk on the opposite side of the intersection. If you walk kids to school, that crosswalk change is the one that affects you.
This phase is expected to finish in December 2026. The intersection then stays a four-way stop, now with turn lanes that give drivers a clearer view of oncoming traffic. Traffic signal installation is expected to start in April 2027 and finish before the 2027–28 school year.
The new grocery store is off the busy stretch
Viera-Suntree's fourth Publix is set to open just in time for the busiest stretch on Stadium Parkway. Two of the area's existing three Publix stores are on the parkway: Stadium Corners at 5380 Stadium Parkway and Addison Center at 7655 Stadium Parkway, which opened in April 2024. The third is Suntree Square at 7777 N. Wickham Road.
The new 50,325-square-foot store anchors Viera Promenade, at the northeast corner of Murrell Road and Berglund Lane just south of Viera Boulevard. A Crossman & Company associate told Viera Voice it was scheduled to open during the first week of November. Publix says the store will have an upstairs seating area.
The plaza is also bringing back a familiar name. Sergio's Tacos served Mexican food from the Mobil station at 5470 Murrell Road from 2015 to 2019 and is returning in a 1,200-square-foot space. Joining it are a Publix Liquors and Pigtails & Crewcuts, the Atlanta-based children's salon's first Brevard location.
Makoto's To Go opens at the north end
Further north, Stadium Square is going up at 2903 Sodore Way, where Pineda Boulevard meets Stadium Parkway. It's a 15,000-square-foot, seven-unit center. The best-known tenant is Makoto's To Go, the first takeout location from Makoto's Japanese Steakhouse & Sushi, which has been on Babcock Street in Melbourne since 1985.
The Viera location will have a hibachi flat-top grill facing customers, but no tableside chef performance, and a few tables for eating in. "Our goal is to do great food at a quick service," general manager and co-owner Sun-Ja Wingfield told Viera Voice, which reported that the restaurant is aiming for a November opening. MedFast Urgent Care, Viera Chemist, Xi Nails and Jetset Pilates complete the announced tenant list.
Closer to The Avenue, Viera Voice reported in July that Escapology's nine-room escape venue was aiming for a late-October opening. The Avenue Viera's tenant page still lists it as coming soon. If you want a night out away from the fair, Lakeside Social at 2431 Town Center Ave. has been open since Aug. 27, with an event lawn and a waterfront pavilion. We covered more of this year's openings in what actually changed in Viera this year.
Thanksgiving weekend brings another tournament
The fairgrounds go quiet after Nov. 15, but the stadium side gets busy again over the holiday. Thanksgiving morning, Nov. 26, starts with Brevard Zoo's Wild Turkey Trot 3K, a family run through the Zoo grounds from 7:30–9 a.m. The next day, USSSA's Thanksgiving Super NIT starts a three-day run, Nov. 27–29, at the Space Coast Complex for 8U through 14U teams. If family is in town that weekend, plan for a busy stretch of Stadium Parkway on Black Friday too.
The month ends at 5490 Stadium Parkway. On Sunday, Dec. 6, Slow and Low Bar-B-Que hosts Santa Paws from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. A $10 donation to Rescue Rebels gets your pet a photo with Santa and a goodie bag, according to the Viera Voice calendar listing. By then, the Cuddington Drive turn lanes should be close to done.
If you're wondering what the new stores and turn lanes on Stadium Parkway mean for your own street or the value of your home, Donell Knight II follows these Viera changes closely and is glad to talk it through. Let's Connect.
