This Weekend in Mount Dora: Elvis, Fall in the Field, Corn Mazes, & Bach’s Coffee Cantata | Oct. 2–4
This Weekend in Mount Dora: Elvis, Fall in the Field, Corn Mazes, & Bach’s Coffee Cantata | Oct. 2–4
October is wasting no time in Mount Dora.
Elvis tribute artists have descended on downtown for the Florida Ultimate Elvis Contest, Renninger’s is welcoming fall with two days of vintage shopping and pumpkins, and Great Scott Farms is deep into corn-maze season. Add the final weekend of Blithe Spirit, a native plant sale, cabaret and bingo at the Bistro, live music around town and a caffeinated Bach performance at Sydonie Mansion, and the first weekend of October is a busy one.
Here’s your guide to October 2–4.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2
The Florida Ultimate Elvis Contest
Preliminary Round #2: 2–4 PM | Ultimate Elvis Concert: 7:30–9:30 PM | Mount Dora Music Hall
Wondering why downtown suddenly has a few more jumpsuits, sideburns and suspiciously good pompadours?
The Florida Ultimate Elvis Contest is underway, bringing Elvis tribute artists from around the country to Mount Dora for three days of competition and concerts. Friday brings Preliminary Round #2 in the afternoon before the spotlight shifts to The Ultimate Elvis Concert at 7:30 PM. The competition then heads into its semifinals and finals Saturday. Mount Dora
Friday Goes to Paris at Mount Dora Bistro
Apéro: 3:30–5 PM | Dinner from 5:30 PM | Cabaret at 9 PM | The Mount Dora Bistro
Friday night takes a decidedly Parisian turn at the Bistro.
Start with Apéro in Paris, featuring a one-hour open bar of crafted cocktails, Bistro wines and Kronenbourg 1664 beer alongside canapés and live saxophone. Then the Bistro moves into dinner before tonight’s first-Friday edition of Evening in Paris: The Legends, a La Cage-style tribute show celebrating legendary entertainers through music, costuming and female impersonation. Mount Dora Area Chamber of Commerce
Bistro details and reservations
Final Weekend of Blithe Spirit
8 PM | Sonnentag Theatre at the IceHouse
There are only three performances left to catch Noël Coward’s supernatural comedy Blithe Spirit.
A séance brings novelist Charles Condomine’s deceased first wife back into his life — much to the displeasure of his current wife — setting off an increasingly chaotic supernatural love triangle. Friday’s performance is at 8 PM, with final matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2 PM. Sonnentag Theatre at the IceHouse
Friday Live Music Around Town
Eden Abbey Brewing Community — Live music from 7–10 PM with no cover. Mount Dora Area Chamber of Commerce
Tremain’s Tavern at Lakeside Inn — Live piano from 6–9 PM. Mount Dora Area Chamber of Commerce
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3
Fall in the Field at Renninger’s
9 AM–5 PM | Renninger's Flea Market & Antique Center | Free admission
If you’ve been waiting for permission to officially declare it fall in Florida, this is probably it.
Fall in the Field fills Renninger’s with antiques, vintage finds, collectibles, crafts, seasonal décor and pumpkins for a two-day fall shopping weekend. Mount Dora Buzz highlights the event as one of the area’s first big fall traditions of the season. MOUNT DORA BUZZ
Note: current online listings conflict slightly on closing time, with the Chamber calendar and Mount Dora Buzz fall guide listing 5 PM while Buzz’s October roundup lists 4 PM, so late-afternoon shoppers may want to confirm before heading over. MOUNT DORA BUZZ
Great Scott Farms Fall Festival & Corn Maze
10 AM–5 PM | Long & Scott Farms | Online admission from $16
Fall festival season continues at Great Scott Farms with its seven-acre corn maze, pumpkin patch, super slide, jumping pillow, fishing and other outdoor farm activities.
This year’s corn maze theme is Island Adventure, and the fall festival continues on weekends through November 15. Last entrance is at 4 PM, so don’t make this one a last-minute afternoon decision. MOUNT DORA BUZZ
Florida Native Plant Sale
10 AM–Noon | Nunan Butterfly Garden, 1995 N. Donnelly St. | Free
Looking to give the yard a little Florida credibility?
The Lake Beautyberry Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society brings hard-to-find native plants and flowers to the Nunan Butterfly Garden Saturday morning. The plants are selected with Florida landscapes in mind, including options that can help attract pollinators. No registration is required. Mount Dora
Bling Bingo Brunch at Mount Dora Bistro
11:30 AM–2:30 PM | Mount Dora Bistro
The first Saturday of the month means Bling Bingo Brunch.
Bridgette Galore hosts an afternoon mixing brunch, bingo, music, boas, fascinators and audience participation as part of the Bistro’s Matinée in Paris series. Later Saturday, Apéro in Paris returns with its one-hour open bar, followed by dinner and the after-dark Club Privé experience with cocktails, music and dancing. Mount Dora Area Chamber of Commerce
The Elvis Contest Comes Down to the Finals
Semifinals: 2–4 PM | Finals: 7:30–9:30 PM | Mount Dora Music Hall
Saturday is decision day for the Florida Ultimate Elvis Contest.
The strongest performers remaining in the competition take the stage at 2 PM for the semifinal round, with finalists selected for Saturday night’s 7:30 PM finale featuring Cote Deonath. Ticket Tailor
Final Saturday of Blithe Spirit
2 PM | Sonnentag Theatre at the IceHouse
Saturday afternoon offers the penultimate performance of Blithe Spirit before the production closes Sunday. Sonnentag Theatre at the IceHouse
Saturday Live Music Around Town
Eden Abbey Brewing Community — Live music from 7–10 PM, no cover. Mount Dora Area Chamber of Commerce
Tremain’s Tavern at Lakeside Inn — Live piano from 6–9 PM. Mount Dora Area Chamber of Commerce
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 4
Mount Dora Village Market
10 AM–2 PM | Sunset Park | Free admission
Ease into Sunday downtown with the Mount Dora Village Market, bringing local vendors together at Sunset Park for the weekly open-air market. Mount Dora Area Chamber of Commerce
Bach’s Coffee Cantata at Sydonie Mansion
2–4 PM | Sydonie Mansion | $45–$50
Bach wrote an entire cantata about coffee addiction.
Naturally, someone had to perform it in Mount Dora.
The Howey Music Series opens its 2026–27 season Sunday with Bach’s Coffee Cantata, featuring vocalists from First Coast Opera, musicians and additional performers inside historic Sydonie Mansion. The afternoon includes complimentary coffee and cookies, because performing a satirical 18th-century ode to caffeine without serving coffee would be a missed opportunity. A cash bar will also be available. Mount Dora Area Chamber of Commerce
Blithe Spirit — Closing Performance
2 PM | Sonnentag Theatre at the IceHouse
Sunday is the final chance to see Blithe Spirit before the curtain comes down on its Mount Dora run. The production has been on stage since September 11 and closes with Sunday’s 2 PM matinee. Sonnentag Theatre at the IceHouse
Meet the Candidates for Mount Dora City Council At-Large
2–4 PM | Lakeside Inn
For residents following this year’s local election, Mount Dora Buzz reports that Sunday’s Meet the Candidate event will give voters an opportunity to speak one-on-one with the three candidates running for the City Council At-Large seat: Charity McClarty, Bailey Stack and Mike Garcia. MOUNT DORA BUZZ
Sunday Brunch & Live Music at Eden Abbey
Brunch noon–4 PM | Music 12:30–2:30 PM and 5–7:30 PM
Close out the weekend with brunch and two rounds of live music at Eden Abbey. The taproom hosts an afternoon set from 12:30–2:30 PM before another round of music from 5–7:30 PM. Mount Dora Area Chamber of Commerce
Whether you’re hunting for vintage finds, getting lost in a corn maze, cheering on an Elvis, planting something native, catching a show or discovering that Johann Sebastian Bach apparently had thoughts about caffeine, there’s plenty to build a weekend around in Mount Dora.
