November on the Space Coast: Turkey Trots, a Marathon in Cocoa Village, the First Cold Front and a Tree Lighting on New Haven Avenue (2026)

Oct 10

Quick answer: November in Melbourne averages a high of 77 and a low of 61, with the first morning below 50 landing around the 10th most years. The big dates: the Cape Canaveral Veterans Day Parade Saturday, November 7, at 11:11; Veterans Day ceremonies at the Brevard Veterans Memorial Center on Merritt Island on the 11th; the Melbourne Holiday Market at the Auditorium November 20 and 21; the Space Coast Marathon and Half through Cocoa Village Sunday the 22nd; three turkey trots on Thanksgiving morning, the 26th; the Downtown Melbourne tree lighting and candlelight shopping the Saturday after; and Breakfast with Santa in Cocoa Village the 21st. Two things that usually happen in November won't this year: the Space Coast Art Festival is taking 2026 off, and the old Light Fest hasn't come back. If you're buying, November's property tax bills come with a 4 percent discount for paying in the month, and a closing before December 31 sets you up for next year's homestead.

I like November here more than I like December, and I'll tell you why. December is full of parades and pressure. November is the month the weather turns and nobody has decided to be busy yet. The first real front comes through, the humidity is gone for good, the restaurants on Cocoa Beach have a table, and the whole county is outside running, fishing or sitting on a seawall with nothing to do. Here's what I'd put on the calendar, with the dates I could confirm in early October. Things change, so check before you go.

The weather

Melbourne's November normals are a high of 77 and a low of 61, with just over two inches of rain. The Weather Service puts the median first reading below 50 degrees at November 10, which is the morning you'll see Floridians in parkas. By afternoon it's 75 and the parkas are in the truck. The ocean is still in the low 70s off Cocoa Beach, and the surfers are in short sleeves until Christmas most years. This winter the forecasters are calling for better odds of a wetter, stormier dry season because of El Niño, so keep an eye on the fronts if you're planning a move in January.

Veterans Day week

This is a military county. Patrick Space Force Base sits between Satellite Beach and Cocoa Beach, the Cape is up the road, and a lot of the people you'll meet at a Viera cookout retired out of one or the other. The Cape Canaveral Veterans Day Parade, the third one, is Saturday, November 7, stepping off at 11:11 near Cape Canaveral City Hall, run by VFW Post 10131. That morning there's a 5K for veterans at the Veterans Memorial Park amphitheater at 7:30. On the day itself, November 11, the Brevard Veterans Memorial Center on Sykes Creek Parkway on Merritt Island holds its ceremony at the plaza, 9:30 to 11, and the center lists events at other locations around the county as they're confirmed. Palm Bay's parade was the Saturday before Veterans Day last year, 10 in the morning down Port Malabar Boulevard to Veterans Memorial Park, and Melbourne Beach did a ceremony at Ryckman Park at 9; check both cities for 2026. The Marine Corps Ball is Friday the 13th at the Space Coast Convention Center.

The marathon

The Space Coast Marathon and Half Marathon is Sunday, November 22, and it's the 55th running, which makes it Florida's oldest. It starts at 6 and 6:15 in the morning in Cocoa Village, runs along the river and finishes at Riverfront Park, and the in-person field was already sold out when I checked. If you're not running, go watch. The Village at sunrise with a few thousand people coming down Delannoy Avenue is one of the better mornings this county puts on, and the coffee places open early for it.

Holiday kickoff, in order

Cocoa Village starts early. The Cocoa Village Concours car show is Sunday, November 15, at 10. Christmas Magic in Cocoa Village, the Community Women's Club event, is Wednesday the 18th. Breakfast with Santa is Saturday the 21st at 9:30. The Saturday Art Market runs every Saturday at 11 at Myrt Tharpe Square. And Small Business Saturday, the 28th, has been the Village's Sip and Shop the last few years: check in at the gazebo at Myrt Tharpe Square from 4 to 8, twenty-plus shops pouring wine samples and running discounts, a souvenir glass and tote, 21 and up, rain or shine. The Village hadn't posted the 2026 date when I wrote this, but it's always that Saturday.

Melbourne's Holiday Market is confirmed: Friday, November 20, 3 to 8, with a kids' zone from 5, and Saturday the 21st, at the Melbourne Auditorium on East Hibiscus. Free, with Santa photos and cookie decorating. Downtown Melbourne's Holiday Pub Crawl featuring Krampus is Saturday the 28th, 5 to 10, $18 in advance. The Downtown Melbourne Tree Lighting and Candlelight Shopping has been the Saturday after Thanksgiving every year, 4 to 8 on New Haven Avenue between Campbell Park and Municipal Lane, with the street closed and the city lots free; for 2026 that's the 28th, but Melbourne Main Street hadn't posted it yet when I checked. It's the one I'd pick if you only do one tree lighting: the whole of downtown walks the avenue with the shops open late and the lights coming on all at once.

Viera does its Light Up Viera Christmas Parade and fireworks the Saturday after Thanksgiving too, 6 in the evening last year from Stadium Parkway to Viera Boulevard ending at Manatee Elementary, so you'll have to choose between Viera and downtown Melbourne that night. The Festival of Trees, the Junior League's fundraiser that's been running about 40 years, was the Saturday before Thanksgiving last year, 9 to 3, at the Wickham Park Community Center. And the Pub Crawl for Homeless Veterans, the 15th one, is Saturday the 21st from 11 to 6:30, Port Canaveral to Cocoa Beach, $25 in advance.

Two things to know this year. The Space Coast Art Festival, which has been the Thanksgiving weekend fixture in Cocoa Beach for decades, is not being held in 2026. The organizers cited a lack of volunteers and plan to return in 2027 at The Avenue Viera. And the Space Coast Lightfest drive-through at Wickham Park, which later moved to Palm Bay, was canceled in 2023 until further notice and hasn't come back. People still ask me about both, so I'd rather you hear it here than drive to an empty field.

Thanksgiving morning: pick your trot

Three of them, all Thursday, November 26.

The Space Coast Turkey Trot, the 23rd one, is at 7:30 at the Front Street Civic Center in Melbourne, $30 for adults and $20 for kids through November 3, then it goes up. The first 300 finishers get a pumpkin pie, which is the only race incentive I've ever cared about.

The Cocoa Beach Turkey Trot is at 8 at the Bailiwick Mall on North Brevard Avenue, $25 with a shirt, with a Little Gobbler fun run at 9:30. The gimmick is the Turkey Teams, who carry a 12-pound frozen turkey around the course. No race-day registration, and bring food pantry donations.

The Wild Turkey Trot 3K at Brevard Zoo is at 7:30, $38 for adults and $28 for kids, register by the 22nd, and you get a medal and a hat and a jog past the giraffes.

I couldn't find a reliable 2026 list of restaurants serving Thanksgiving dinner, and I'm not going to guess at one. Book early anywhere on the water; the Cocoa Beach and Cocoa Village places fill up.

Outside

November is the month the manatees start thinking about warm water. The viewing deck on the Haulover Canal, where Kennedy Parkway crosses it inside the Merritt Island refuge, is the easy place to look, with benches and exhibits and no admission; the refuge visitor center is open 8:30 to 4 Tuesday through Saturday and closed on Thanksgiving. The manatee slow-speed zones on the lagoon go into effect November 15 and run through March, so if you've just bought a boat, learn the signs now. The surf is reliable this month at the pier, the Streets, Second Light, the Indialantic boardwalk and First Peak at the inlet, and there's a Falcon 9 cargo launch penciled in for the 29th in the evening, unconfirmed. Snook season is still open through December 14, redfish are catch-and-release in the lagoon this year, and trout closes in the lagoon region for November and December, so November is a snook month if you fish from the jetty.

If you're buying or selling this month

Property tax bills in Brevard go out November 1, and there's a 4 percent discount for paying in November, 3 in December, 2 in January, 1 in February. If you're under contract, the title company prorates it at closing. More important for a buyer: if you close and move in by December 31, you can file for the homestead exemption by March 1 and get it for 2027, which also starts the Save Our Homes cap that limits your assessment increases to 3 percent a year. If you're coming from another Florida homestead, you can bring up to $500,000 of that cap benefit with you. The Space Coast relocation page covers the rest, and the Melbourne page has the neighborhoods.

Questions people ask about November here

What is the weather like on the Space Coast in November?

Melbourne averages a high of 77 and a low of 61 in November with about two inches of rain. The first morning below 50 degrees usually arrives around November 10, and afternoons stay in the 70s. The ocean is still in the low 70s.

When is the Space Coast Marathon?

Sunday, November 22, 2026, the 55th running and Florida's oldest marathon. It starts at 6 and 6:15 in the morning in Cocoa Village and finishes at Riverfront Park. In-person registration was sold out as of early October.

Are there turkey trots on the Space Coast on Thanksgiving?

Three: the Space Coast Turkey Trot 5K at 7:30 at the Front Street Civic Center in Melbourne, the Cocoa Beach Turkey Trot 5K at 8 at the Bailiwick Mall, and the Wild Turkey Trot 3K at Brevard Zoo at 7:30. All are Thursday, November 26, 2026.

Is the Space Coast Art Festival happening in 2026?

No. The organizers announced it will not be held in 2026 because of a lack of volunteers, with plans to return in 2027 at The Avenue Viera.

When is the Melbourne tree lighting?

The Downtown Melbourne Tree Lighting and Candlelight Shopping is held the Saturday after Thanksgiving, 4 to 8, on New Haven Avenue. For 2026 that is November 28, though Melbourne Main Street had not posted the date when this was written.

Does a November closing get me the homestead exemption?

If you own and live in the home as your permanent residence on January 1, 2027, and apply with the Brevard County Property Appraiser by March 1, you can get the homestead exemption for 2027. A closing any time before December 31 works.

Talk with William. If you want to see the Space Coast at its best, come in November. I'll put together a day of houses from Titusville to Palm Bay around a trot, a launch or a sunset at the inlet. Call or text (772) 800-2274 or send a message.

General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Prices, fees and club rules change; confirm current details with the club and association. William Merchant, REALTOR®, RE/MAX Gold. Each RE/MAX office is independently owned and operated.

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William Merchant