DAYTONA BEACH, FLA. –
When I arrived in Daytona, Fla., the first question I asked was, “Where are the Harley’s?” Little did I know Daytona is more than Harley Davidson motorcycles revving everywhere–it’s a whole lot more.
By Ella Patterson
From professional theater productions and concerts to museums and international music festivals, the Daytona Beach area is home to a stellar selection of enriching cultural activities and attractions that are sure to please even those with the most discriminating tastes.
Music thrives in the Daytona Beach area, offering visitors and locals a variety of free and paid musical performances.
Each spring and summer, free concerts are held beachside at the Bandshell, an historic landmark built in 1937 by the Federal Works Administration. Concerts are performed on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays from April through October, and feature jazz, Dixieland, big band, blues, folk music and other musical genres appealing to a wide range of tastes and preferences.
The Daytona Beach Symphony Society annually hosts a season of classical concerts featuring world-renown guest conductors and symphony orchestras. Every year, the society also sponsors Winterfest, a classical music festival.
Daytona Beach is home to several acclaimed museums and galleries. The Southeast Museum of Photography (SMP) displays rotating and permanent exhibits highlighting cultural and historical issues. The 10,000-square-foot museum is one of only 12 museums of its kind in the United States, and one of fewer than 30 in the world. SMP exhibitions have traveled to such respected institutions as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Carpenter Center at Harvard and the Pitt-Rivers Museum at Oxford.
The Museum of Arts and Sciences, one of the finest multi-topical museum facilities of its kind in Florida, is one of Daytona Beach’s most important gems. Housing some of the finest 18th and 19th century antiquities, the largest Cuban art collection outside of Cuba, permanent and traveling exhibitions, the Center for Florida History and a planetarium, the museum offers hours of sophisticated and enjoyable entertainment.
For maritime lovers, the Daytona Beach area has one of Florida’s finest nautical museums at the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse and Museum. The attraction houses maritime artifacts, educational exhibits and a rare Fresnel Lens exhibit.
The Casements, John D. Rockefeller’s former winter home, now serves as the city of Ormond Beach’s cultural center and museum. Featured exhibits include the Hungarian Culture Room and one of the finest exhibitions of Boy Scout memorabilia in the United States.
Also in Ormond Beach is the Ormond Memorial Art Museum and Gardens. Featuring rotating exhibits by acclaimed artists, this museum is set amid a lush tropical botanical garden complete with a gazebo, fountains, ponds and waterfalls.
On your next vacation, be sure to visit Daytona Florida – and don’t forget to rent a Harley.
For a Daytona Beach area visitor’s guide filled with information on cultural events, attractions and activities, call 800-854-1234, 386-255-0415 or visit www.daytonabeach.com.
Ella Patterson is a member of Global One Travel Writers Association and International Food, Wine and Travel Writers Association.
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