Grant-Valkaria's official gathering place is the Community Park at 1449 Valkaria Road. That's where the town holds Grant-Valkaria Day and its Christmas tree lighting. The events that bring in the biggest crowds and raise money happen two miles away, on a single property on First Street that belongs to a volunteer club. The farmers market season that opened there in October is the clearest look at how much of the town's public life comes back to that one address.
Third Sundays through the winter
The Grant Farmers Market runs on the third Sunday of each month from October through March, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Grant Community Center, 4580 First Street. That schedule comes from DBH Hummus Company, a returning vendor that posts the dates online. Its season listing opened with "GRANT, WE'RE BACK!!!" and says the market brings together more than 75 vendors, food trucks and local makers.
| Market Sunday | Hours | Location |
|---|---|---|
| November 15, 2026 | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Grant Community Center, 4580 First Street |
| December 20, 2026 | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Grant Community Center, 4580 First Street |
| January 17, 2027 | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Grant Community Center, 4580 First Street |
| February 21, 2027 | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. | Grant Community Center, 4580 First Street |
The next market is Sunday, November 15. The vendor describes the season as running through March, and the December date falls on the last Sunday before Christmas. The market isn't new. An event listing on AllEvents shows a market at the same address last February, on a Sunday, with the same hours.
One agenda, three events, one address
The Town Council agenda for October 14, 2026, shows how much depends on that lot. Under New Business, it listed three special-event permit resolutions in a row, each for 4580 First Street.
- Resolution No. 33-2026, for the Grant BBQ Festival, submitted by Toys for Kids, Inc.
- Resolution No. 34-2026, for the 2027 Grant Seafood Festival, submitted by the Grant Community Club, Inc.
- Resolution No. 35-2026, for a monthly farmers market at the Grant Community Club, submitted by the Grant Community Club.
The same agenda began with a proclamation for the Grant Seafood Fest's 60th anniversary. Each resolution title says the permit would come with conditions. The agenda doesn't list those conditions, so the full terms aren't public yet. The council's next meetings are November 10 and December 9. The November meeting moves to a Tuesday because the usual second Wednesday falls on Veterans Day.
None of the three events is run by the town. Two belong to the Grant Community Club and one to Toys for Kids. That pattern runs through the rest of Grant's calendar.
Sixty years of fish fries on First Street
The Grant Seafood Festival returns March 6 and 7, 2027. Hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, with free admission and parking and more than 200 crafters. The festival's home page calls this the 59th annual event, while its history page and the Town's proclamation say 60th. Space Coast Daily reported the 2026 festival as the 59th, which makes March 2027 the 60th.
The festival started small. According to Florida Today's coverage of its 50th year, it grew out of fish fries that fed about 200 people, with Ann Christenson and Roland Hill credited as co-founders. The Town's events page says the festival has been held every year in late February or early March since 1966. It also notes that Vice President Hubert Humphrey stopped by in 1968 during his presidential campaign.
The festival still runs without outside help. Florida Today reported in 2018 that local volunteers produce it with no outside promoters. The Town describes it as entirely volunteer-run.
Where the First Street money goes
According to the Town, all proceeds from the seafood festival go back into the community, funding:
- The Grant Seafood Festival Scholarship Fund, for college scholarships for local students
- The Grant Community Library
- The Grant Historical House
- The Grant Community Center, the same building that hosts the market
The Town adds that the money also pays for summer activities for local children. The library also holds its book sale during festival weekend. So one weekend in March helps pay for a library, a museum and the hall where the farmers market sets up for the next six months.
The BBQ festival follows the same model with a different cause. The Grant BBQ Festival held its 23rd annual event April 17 to 19, 2026. It had live music, a People's Choice contest, a Saturday car and motorcycle show, vendors, and free admission and parking. According to the Town, teams compete in chicken, pork and rib categories, with separate awards for backyard amateurs. Proceeds go to the Toys for Kids toy drive. Toys for Kids Brevard describes itself as an all-volunteer nonprofit that gives holiday gifts to children in Brevard and keeps donations local. The Town's page says the BBQ festival is held the first weekend in April, but the 2026 event ran in mid-April. Dates for 2027 haven't been announced.
The historical house the festival helps keep up
The festival money reaches a building a few minutes south. The Grant Historical House, also called the Bensen House, stands at 5795 South US Highway 1 and is on Brevard County's list of historical sites. It holds its own fundraiser, the Pioneer Fish Fry, which serves fried fish, turnip greens, cheese grits, hush puppies, baked beans and coleslaw. The proceeds pay for upkeep of the house.
If you plan to stop by after the market, the timing matters. Space Coast Living reported in September 2025 that the museum opens Fridays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The grounds are open from 8 a.m. to dusk, and admission is free. Under those hours, the house is closed on market Sundays but the grounds are open. The same article reported that Brevard Zoo volunteers restored the shoreline through Restore Our Shores, with funding from the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program. It also said the historical society was renovating the nearby railroad depot and considering a fishing museum there. Those hours are from 2025, so check them before you plan a visit around them.
Lunch on the water, and a signal for First Street
For a meal by the lagoon after the market closes at 2, Treasure Coast Marina sits at 5185 US Highway 1. On its website, the marina describes 35 wet slips, 13 lifts, a store with bait and tackle, boat and kayak rentals, and hours of 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. The Old Fish House Bar & Grill shares the address. The Town notes that the marina property has housed a fishing business since 1916. It also hosts the Autumn Classic In-Shore Fishing Tournament.
Getting to and from the market depends on the US 1 intersection at First Street, which the Florida Department of Transportation plans to rebuild. In a July 20, 2026 notice, the Town said FDOT plans a new mast-arm traffic signal there. The median would be shortened to make room for a pedestrian crosswalk, and the work would include resurfacing, drainage work and new pavement markings and signs. FDOT's project page shows the project still in design, with an estimated construction cost of $1.2 million and a letting date of August 3, 2027. A similar signal is planned at US 1 and Valkaria Road, with a crosswalk and intersection lighting. That project is estimated at $1.3 million and has the same August 2027 letting date. Both projects are expected to go to bid after the current market season ends, so this winter's market Sundays will use First Street as it is now.
The town's own dates
The Town's events page says the Christmas tree lighting is held at the Community Park on the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Santa arrives by fire truck, and each resident who attends signs an ornament that's saved for the next year's tree. The page says the Grant-Valkaria Day date will be posted as the event gets closer. Both events happen at the town park on Valkaria Road. The farmers market, the BBQ festival and the seafood festival are all at 4580 First Street.
As a Master Captain, William Taylor knows US 1 and the lagoon shoreline from the water as well as from the road, from Treasure Coast Marina's slips to the old fishing properties along the river. If you're weighing a Grant-Valkaria property and want to know how a location fits into the town's calendar, from market Sundays on First Street to festival weekend in March, William Taylor Real Estate is glad to help. Let's Connect.
