The Seeing Red Wine Festival returns to Seaside November 5 through 8 for its 34th year. In mid-October, the festival's ticket page on BigTickets showed Friday and Sunday as waitlist-only. Saturday was the only day still on sale. Most of the paid weekend has already been bought.
The festival takes place on the same lawns and the same plaza that hold Seaside's free events all month. A free concert opens the week, a farmers market runs the Saturday morning of the Grand Tasting, and the month ends with a parade and a tree lighting. Seaside's November is mostly open to anyone without a wristband.
How the Festival Moves Through Town
Seeing Red has no single venue. Over four days it uses a restaurant, two lawns and Central Square. The order matters if you plan to be in town that week, because each event briefly takes over a different part of Seaside.
- Thursday, November 5: Vintner's Dinner at Bud & Alley's. The festival's own site describes it as a curated menu that opens the weekend. Seaside's event calendar lists it from 6 to 9 p.m. A separate 30A.com listing for a Far Niente dinner at Bud & Alley's the same night gives an 8 p.m. start. That listing names six wines, from the Post & Beam Chardonnay 2023 to the Dolce 2021.
- Friday, November 6: Al Fresco Reserve Tasting on the Lyceum Lawn, 6 to 8:30 p.m. Winemakers pour reserve wines alongside food and live music. The ticket page calls it "a classic Seeing Red Wine Festival Event" that is returning to the Lyceum.
- Saturday, November 7, morning: Battle of the Somms. The ticket page describes two Master Sommeliers facing off over a multi-course chef menu, with guests voting on their favorite pairings. It lists the OBE Pavilion from 10 a.m. to noon. Seaside's calendar lists the same event from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at The Daytrader, 2236 E County Hwy 30A, in partnership with Ithaka Hospitality Partners.
- Saturday, November 7, afternoon: the Grand Tasting in Central Square. VIP check-in starts at 12:30 p.m. in a lounge in Central Square, and general admission begins at 1 p.m. It pairs the visiting wineries with food from Seaside restaurants and other local kitchens.
- Sunday, November 8: Celebration of Bubbles on the Lyceum Lawn, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Champagne and brunch close the festival, and Chef Jim Shirley is named for the event.
The festival's "2026 Wineries" page lists 19 producers. They include Robert Biale Vineyards, Copain Wines, Lemelson Vineyards, Covert Estate, Daniele Conterno, Julien Fayard, WillaKenzie, Jackson Family Wines, Chris Hamilton Cellars and Blue Rock Vineyard & Winery.
Which Tickets Are Still for Sale
The BigTickets page for the 2026 festival showed this as of mid-October:
- Battle of the Somms: $275 plus a $16.95 fee, waitlist link showing
- Friday/Saturday General Admission pass: $650 plus a $38.66 fee, waitlist link showing
- Friday/Saturday VIP pass: $900 plus a $53.13 fee, waitlist link showing
- Friday Al Fresco Reserve Tasting alone: $450 plus a $27.08 fee, waitlist link showing
- Saturday VIP Grand Tasting: $450 plus a $27.08 fee, waitlist link showing
- Celebration of Bubbles: $125 plus an $8.26 fee, waitlist link showing
- Saturday General Admission Grand Tasting: $300 plus an $18.39 fee, with a quantity selector rather than a waitlist
That last line is the only open ticket on the list. It is also the event that lets you taste the most of the festival, because the Grand Tasting is where the whole winery roster and the local restaurants pour in one place. The weekend passes cost more because they add the Friday Reserve Tasting to the same Saturday entry. Without the Friday ticket, the $300 Saturday ticket gets you into the main event for less than half the price of the cheapest pass.
The passes have one detail that is easy to miss. A single Friday/Saturday pass scans once per day, so you have to keep it after the Lyceum on Friday and show it again at Central Square on Saturday. Celebration of Bubbles is sold separately and is not included in either the GA or VIP package. Ticket status changes week to week, so the waitlist links above are worth checking again before you give up on a sold-out event.
The Free Week Around the Festival
If you skip the ticket page, the week still has a full schedule, and it starts the night before the Vintner's Dinner.
Wednesday, November 4. Sounds of Seaside brings Max McCann to the Seaside Amphitheater from 4 to 6 p.m. Seaside's calendar asks guests to bring blankets and chairs. The series runs every Wednesday in November at the same time:
- November 4: Max McCann
- November 11: Flow Tribe
- November 18: Roman Street
- November 25: BOUKOU GROOVE
The November 25 show falls the afternoon before Thanksgiving.
Friday, November 6. Seaside's fall roundup lists Central Square Cinema on Fridays at 7 p.m. through the season, with families on the lawn and dinner from the town's merchants. That puts a free outdoor movie on the same evening as the Lyceum's reserve tasting.
Saturday, November 7. The Seaside Farmers Market runs every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Amphitheater, 2235 E County Hwy 30A. On festival Saturday, the market's last hour overlaps the Grand Tasting's VIP check-in at 12:30 p.m. and its 1 p.m. general admission in Central Square. The morning of November 7 is the busiest stretch of the month in the center of town. For an easy Saturday, the market's 9 a.m. opening is the quieter window.
Before the Festival, One More Free Evening
This post goes up the Thursday before Halloween, and Seaside's next free event comes first. Halloween in Seaside runs Saturday, October 31, from 4 to 7 p.m. in Central Square, with trick-or-treating at participating merchants. Seaside's fall roundup kept this year's theme under wraps until the night itself. Five days later, the festival starts at Bud & Alley's.
Where November Ends
The second half of the month is quieter, with the Wednesday concerts as its regular event. Then Saturday, November 28, brings the Seaside Holiday Parade and Turn on the Town from 3 to 8 p.m. Seaside's event page sets out the order. The parade runs along 30A, Emerald Coast Theatre Company performs at Krier Plaza, and Santa lights the Christmas tree at the Seaside Amphitheater. After that, Santa photos continue at the Christmas Village until 8 p.m.
Turn on the Town includes a way to take part, not just watch. Parade registration is open through the same BigTickets account the wine festival uses, and all proceeds from registration go to Point Washington Medical Clinic. If you sat out Seeing Red, entering the parade is another way to be part of the month on Seaside's main stage.
Seaside's winter preview, posted in mid-October, says more holiday events will be added to the calendar as they are announced. December already has a few dates. Seaside's own listing has the Seaside Holiday Market on December 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 30A.com has separate listings for December 5 and December 6, so confirm the dates before you plan around the market. A Holiday Show at the Post Office is on the calendar for December 5, 13 and 19, with details still to come.
Here is the whole month in order. The farmers market runs every Saturday, the Wednesday concerts run all four weeks, the paid festival takes four days in the first week, and the parade and tree lighting fall on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Only the four festival days need a ticket. Every other date on Seaside's November calendar is free and open to anyone who shows up.
At Kim McCall-Emerald Coast Signature Collection, we keep track of how Seaside's calendar shapes each season in town, from a waitlisted wine weekend to a Wednesday concert at the Amphitheater. If you own here or hope to, and want to talk through how a month like this fits the way you use your home, we would love to hear from you. Work With Us.
