Things to Do in Sebastian

When Mimi’s Crafts was founded in 1995, two dreams were fulfilled: Mimi turned her hobby of molding clay and painting ceramics into a full-time business, and her husband got his garage back. The walls of Mimi’s studio flaunt more than 1,500 blank ceramics, the vast majority of which were made in store. During pottery-painting sessions, visitors let their artistic instincts run wild as they daub figurines with scintillating paints, before their completed designs are immortalized in a fiery kiln. The studio’s experts stay on hand to offer helpful tips on stenciling, arranging color combinations, and forging Michelangelo’s signature. Aside from pottery-painting sessions, Mimi’s Crafts also hosts classes in the arts of glass fusing, clay molding, and acrylic painting.

When the warm season arrives, the team at Epic Boardsports strives to get locals and visitors out and enjoying nearby tropical waterways such as Banana River lagoon. For the uninitiated as well as the experienced, knowledgeable guides lead stand-up paddleboard tours around the lagoon to share local lore and point out manatees, seabirds, and dolphins playing Jenga in their natural habitat. The team also gives paddleboard lessons at Banana River or on the ocean, and rents and sells top-flight Hawaiian Pro Designs surfboards for aquatic adventurers looking to go paddle-less. Kiteboards by brands such as the versatile Jimmy Lewis, designed to enhance every style of boarding, give wave athletes one more way to soar over the sea. Fostering a year-round passion for extreme board sports, the team can send skiers down powder-covered mountainsides in style with boards, boots, and accessories.

Since 1953, the Coast Guard–certified captains and Merchant Marines of Miss Cape Canaveral Fleet have safely taken guests out to sea in search of trophy-size mackerel, amberjack, snapper, and sharks. As Florida's largest deep-sea-fishing vessel, the 85-foot Lydia yacht hosts up to 100 passengers—just like a large horse carriage pulled by a strongman—and offers comfortable accommodations such as a temperature-controlled lounge and cushioned seats. Fishing adventures provide guests with rods, reels, bait, and tackle big enough for the predators dwelling deep beneath the surface. Guests are invited to snap their own jaws around hot meals, unlimited sodas, coffee, and, for over-21 anglers, a duo of frosty canned beers noodled from the icy depths of the ship's cooler.

Sheri’s enthusiasm for creating vivid illustrations began long before she founded Bali Studios in 2007. As a little girl, she used to wile away the time drawing mermaids and turtles—a passion that continued into her adulthood and led her to pursue a dual degree in art and elementary education. Today, Sheri opens the doors to her oceanfront studio for arts and crafters of all skill levels and ages, spurring their imaginations during easygoing classes and events that yield hangable and wearable pieces of artwork. Bali's various painting classes encourage participants to strew colors over blank canvases to form sea-inspired portraits of whales, pelicans, ocean scenery, and banana boats sunk by prickly fish. For those looking to festoon their footwear, Sheri also paints fetching designs—such as budding flowers, frothy waves, and soaring birds—over shoes and boots that visitors bring in.

David Lane and his business partner started their sports-rental shop inside a cramped garage filled with surfboards, kayaks, and paddleboards—items they used for sports they practiced themselves. Lane’s favorite part of his job is “helping people participate in the activities I enjoy,” and his business has grown to a full-size store that stocks paddleboards, surfboards, and bicycles and leads guided excursions. Inside, displays house surfboards adorned with sunsets, beaches, and coconut trees hand-painted by a local artist, alongside similarly painted canvases to display at home galleries or hang on monochromatic surfers. The owners also deliver rentals free of charge to customers, dropping off surfboards at the beach, taking kayaks to watery trails, or delivering bicycles to cruise ships’ port of call for passenger day trips.

Additionally, the store offers excursions and lessons, including surfing lessons, guided kayak trips, and adventurous surf-fishing trips to hook ocean creatures from tarpon to 9-foot sharks, which the store has helped tag for a research project with NOAA Apex Predators Program.

The Loughman Lake Beer and Food Fest, formerly known as the Titusville Craft Beer Festival, sets a spread of up to 70 domestic and craft beers for festival-goers to sample amidst the scenic vista at Loughman Lake. Since 2012, the festival has been a destination for fun lovers of all stripes: guests can chew the fat about their favorite baseball teams or play full-contact chess in the sports lounge, toast digital gladiators in the video-game area, or rock out to live music played throughout the day. Thanks to the new venue, the festival also offers a chance to jet across the wetlands on an airboat with reservations through the lakeside lodge.