Part of the Gay Miami Guide — bars, events & things to do.
Friday, March 5, 2027
South Beach, Miami Beach — Beach Party at 10th Street Beach
1001 Ocean Dr, Miami Beach, FL 33139Live from our events calendar — updated daily.
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Every March, a stretch of sand at 10th Street on South Beach turns into one of the most famous dance floors in gay America. Winter Party Festival returns to Miami Beach March 5–8, 2027 (dates per the festival's ticketing partners — confirm at winterparty.com as the official calendar firms up), bringing its signature ocean-side Beach Party, a week of satellite events across South Beach, and a purpose most circuit weekends can't claim: every ticket funds the National LGBTQ Task Force's work.
Here's the full guide — what the week looks like, the history behind it, and how to do South Beach right while you're down.
Pro Tip
Winter Party pass tiers sell in waves and the Beach Party is the one everybody buys — if you know you're going, grab passes when they open in the fall and book a South Beach hotel the same day. Early March is peak season on the beach.
Winter Party started in 1994 as a single beach dance on South Beach and grew into a week-long festival — one of the longest-running LGBTQ+ events in Florida. What sets it apart is the money: the festival is produced for the National LGBTQ Task Force, the country's oldest national LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, and its proceeds do real work. Since 2005, Winter Party and the Task Force Gala have put over $4 million back into more than 100 community organizations across South Florida, on top of funding the Task Force's national advocacy.
That gives the week a different feel than a pure commercial circuit stop. The crowd is still 10,000 strong and the DJs are still world-class — but the whole thing is, at its core, the Task Force's biggest party-shaped fundraiser.
The festival's final 2027 lineup hadn't been announced as of this guide's update, but the format is well-established. The most recent edition ran six days across South Beach with a roster that shows the shape of the week:
Check winterparty.com for the confirmed 2027 schedule; we'll update this guide and add each party as the lineup posts.
Pro Tip
The Beach Party ends around sunset, and the post-beach migration to Twist and the Palace strip is a tradition of its own. Pace yourself — the marquee night events start late, and Miami afterhours mean exactly what they say.
Winter Party doesn't happen in a vacuum — it happens two blocks from one of America's most storied gay strips. Between official events:
Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
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The strategy is simple: stay on South Beach, as close to the 10th Street/Ocean Drive core as your budget allows — the Beach Party, the strip, and most satellite venues sit within a 15-minute walk of each other.
Build your Winter Party week
Every South Beach bar, drag brunch, and party — live with dates and times — is on Out x Out. Stack your festival week properly.
Miami runs on marquee weekends, and knowing the calendar helps you pick your trip — or stack them:
And in 2027 there's a genuine collision worth knowing about: Atlantis's Epic Allure Caribbean cruise — billed as the world's largest gay cruise — sails out of Miami March 7–14, 2027, overlapping Winter Party weekend. South Beach will be very gay that week even by South Beach standards; hotels will feel it. Book accordingly, or do both — the full cruise calendar is here.
Early March is Miami Beach at its meteorological best — low 80s, low humidity by Miami standards, ocean warm enough to swim. It is also spring break season, which means two things: the rest of South Beach is crowded and loud beyond the festival itself, and Miami Beach has in recent years imposed extra rules during peak spring break weeks (things like earlier beach closures, parking restrictions, and heightened enforcement, varying year to year). None of it has stopped Winter Party — the festival's beach site is permitted and produced — but plan around a busy, heavily policed Ocean Drive, don't drive if you can avoid it, and treat the official festival venues as your reliable home base.
March 5–8, 2027 per the festival's ticketing partners, with the signature Beach Party expected on Sunday, March 7. The National LGBTQ Task Force typically confirms the final schedule and lineup in the fall — check winterparty.com before booking flights.
On the sand at 10th Street Beach, South Beach — steps from Ocean Drive. It's the festival's signature event and the image most people have of Winter Party: thousands dancing on the beach with the Atlantic behind the DJ.
The National LGBTQ Task Force. Since 2005, Winter Party and the Task Force Gala have reinvested more than $4 million into over 100 South Florida community organizations, alongside the Task Force's national advocacy work.
More than 10,000 attendees from around the world across the festival's week of events.
In 1994, as a beach dance on South Beach. It has grown into a multi-day festival and one of the longest-running LGBTQ+ events in Florida.
South Beach, as close to the 10th Street and Ocean Drive core as possible — the Beacon and Clevelander are practically on the Beach Party sand, Hôtel Gaythering is the gay hotel up on Lincoln Lane, and the modern tier (Dream, Moxy, Kimpton Palomar, citizenM) is all walkable. Book when passes open; early March is peak season.
No — it's a week-long festival: the Beach Party is the centerpiece, surrounded by pool parties, an opening splash at The Palace, big-room night events, and afterhours across South Beach venues.
Let people know you're going, see who else is attending, and share the event with friends.
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