Things to Do in Brevard County This Week: September 28 to October 4, 2026

October starts on Thursday, and it starts with a crewed launch. The summer fertilizer pause ends the same day, and Saturday fills in fast. This week has a first-ever Porsche swap meet in Cocoa, a bake fest, a 250-booth art show at Wickham Park, a charity bike ride in Indian Harbour Beach, and a Hispanic Heritage Month celebration in Palm Bay.

Here is the week, plus one free class next Tuesday worth signing up for now.

Thursday morning: a crewed launch from Cape Canaveral

11:10am. SpaceX Crew-13. Space Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting Thursday, October 1 at 11:10am for Crew-13, carrying four astronauts to the International Space Station on a Falcon 9 rocket and a Dragon spacecraft. NASA astronauts Jessica Watkins and Luke Delaney fly as commander and pilot, with Joshua Kutryk of the Canadian Space Agency and Sergey Teteryatnikov of Roscosmos as mission specialists. If it goes Thursday, they dock at the station around 8pm the same night, less than nine hours after liftoff.

This one slipped from September 12 because of a leak found during prelaunch processing, so it has moved once already. Launch dates and windows can fluctuate. Confirm launch specs before venturing out.

Sources: NASA space station blog, September 22, and rocketlaunch.org, Cape Canaveral and Kennedy Space Center schedules.

School week

Challenger 7 Elementary in Port St. John runs its own year-round calendar. Its two-week intercession ends this week, and students go back Monday, October 5.

For everyone else in Brevard Public Schools, the next day off is Monday, October 12.

Source: brevardschools.org.

Thursday, October 1

5pm to 8pm. Brevard Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Business Social. Eastern Florida State College Palm Bay Campus, Building 1, Room 107G Auditorium, 250 Community College Parkway SE, Palm Bay.

This is a Brevard Hispanic Chamber of Commerce event, hosted by EFSC’s Palm Bay Campus during Hispanic Heritage Month. Come to learn about EFSC programs, meet local business owners and professionals, and celebrate the culture. Light refreshments are served. Tickets are $20, $10 for chamber members, and EFSC students get in free with a student ID. Register ahead at brevardhispanicchamber.com, or call 321-327-8938.

Saturday, October 3

Check-in 6:30am, rollout 8:15am sharp. Bob’s Breast Cancer Awareness Ride. Bob’s Bicycle Shop, 510 E. Eau Gallie Boulevard, Indian Harbour Beach.

This is the 19th year for this ride. It is one mass start from the shop, with three ride lengths, from a short family ride to 60 miles. Registration is required and runs $35 to $40, and the ride benefits Space Coast Survivors. The shop says complimentary food and drinks will be available.

9am to 3pm. Central Florida Porsche Swap Meet. F. Burton Smith Park, Karberg Pavilion, 7575 W. King Street, Cocoa. Free admission and parking.

This is the first one ever. The Space Coast Region of the Porsche Club of America is filling the pavilion with Porsche parts, gear and cars for sale, plus food trucks and a DJ. You do not need a Porsche to walk around. All proceeds go to the Satellite High School Auto Department.

9am to 4pm. Fall Coffee and Bake Fest. River Road Coffee and Popsicles, 9 Rosa L. Jones Drive, Cocoa.

One day only. River Road is bringing together local drink vendors, cottage bakeries, food trucks and market vendors in one spot. Come hungry.

All weekend, October 3 and 4

Saturday 10am to 5pm, Sunday 10am to 4pm. Melbourne Fall Art and Craft Expo. Wickham Park, 2500 Parkway Drive, Melbourne. Free admission and parking.

This is the 6th year for the fall expo. About 250 artist and crafter booths set up across the park, with live music, festival food, adult beverages and a free kids zone.

Coming up Tuesday, October 6: become a storm spotter

6:30pm. SKYWARN Storm Spotter Class. Brevard County Emergency Operations Center, 1751 Huntington Lane, Rockledge. Free.

A National Weather Service meteorologist teaches how to recognize severe weather and how to report it. Classes run about two hours. NWS Melbourne says you have to attend a formal class like this one to become an official spotter and get a spotter ID card. The online courses do not count. Register in advance at weather.gov/mlb/SKYWARN.

What is on stage in Brevard this week

Come From Away continues at Titusville Playhouse, 301 Julia Street in Titusville. Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm and 8pm, Sunday at 2pm. When planes were grounded on September 11, 2001, one small town in Newfoundland took in about 7,000 stranded travelers. It runs through October 18.

Celtic Thunder plays the King Center, 3865 N. Wickham Road in Melbourne, on Friday, October 2 at 8pm. Doors open at 7.

Historic Cocoa Village Playhouse and Melbourne Civic Theatre are both dark this week, and both open new shows Friday, October 9. Surfside Playhouse in Cocoa Beach returns November 6.

Sources: titusvilleplayhouse.com, kingcenter.com, mymct.org, cocoavillageplayhouse.com.

Did you know your neighbors help write the storm reports?

The National Weather Service office on Croton Road in Melbourne forecasts for Brevard and the rest of east central Florida. Forecasters watch storms on radar, but radar cannot tell them what is actually hitting the ground.

That is where SKYWARN spotters come in. They are trained volunteers, including ham radio operators, emergency responders and regular residents, who report tornadoes, hail, wind, flooding and hurricane damage as it happens.

Hail gets measured against everyday things, from pea size at a quarter inch to softball size at four and a half inches. Quarter size, one inch, is where hail officially becomes severe.

That is the size scale in real life. The hailstone above fell in my own West Melbourne yard on April 26, 2023, and it covered the lawn like snow.

The next free class in Brevard is Tuesday, October 6, in Rockledge.

Source: National Weather Service Melbourne, weather.gov/mlb/SKYWARN.

Living here: fertilizer season is back October 1

Brevard County restricts nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer from June 1 to September 30, the rainy season, so it does not wash into the Indian River Lagoon. Starting October 1, lawns can get nitrogen fertilizer again. A few rules still apply all year:

• At least half the nitrogen has to be slow-release. It is on the label.
• Use a no-phosphate fertilizer unless a soil test shows your yard needs phosphorus.
• Keep fertilizer at least 15 feet from any pond, canal, the lagoon or the top of a seawall.
• Hold off during a flood, tropical storm or hurricane watch or warning, when heavy rain is likely, or when the ground is soggy.

This is the county rule for unincorporated Brevard. Brevard’s cities set their own fertilizer rules, so check with your city in case yours is stricter.

Source: Brevard County Code, Chapter 46, Article VIII, Fertilizer Use on Urban Landscape.

Thinking about moving to Brevard?

A week like this is a good picture of living here. A first-ever car show, a 250-booth art fair, a charity ride, a free weather class, and four astronauts leaving from the coast, all in one county in one week.

I have lived in Brevard since 1997 and owned property here that whole time. If you are moving here, or moving across town, send me a message and let’s talk.

Lisa Kathleen Mark
Dalton Wade Real Estate Group
321-591-5429
brevardsrealestateagent.com