The first South Beach Mango Festival was held on Sunday, August 5, 2018, from 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.,on Lummus Park, between 11th and 12th Streets.

During the June 6, 2018 City Commission meeting,Commissioner Michael Gongora, requested the South Beach Mango Festival event producers put forward a request for a waiver of the following special event permitting fees:

Application fee: $250.00

Permit fee: $250.00

Vehicle Beach Access Passes: $1,500

Square footage fee: $24,610

Lummus Park user fee: $2,713.25

The total request for fee waivers is $29,323.25.

Pursuant to the new special event funding guidelines set forth in Ordinance 2018-4171, the City Commission referred the item for consideration to the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee ("FCWPC") meeting on June 8, 2018.

At June 8, 2018 FCWPC meeting, the Committee recommended special event fee waivers in the amount of $29,323.25, as requested.

In addition, the committee recommended that the City be a sponsor of the South Beach Mango Festival.

The waiver and sponsorship was approved by the City Commission on June 12, 2018.

For the 2019 South Beach Mango Festival, organizers are requesting the following:

- waive special event permit fees ($29,323.25 from 2018)

- City sponsorship of $75,000

On April 4, 2019 the administration reached out to the Mango Festival to gather details of the event in which to base a recommendation.  

On April 11, 2019 the administration spoke with the festival producers to review details, but confirmed programming and details were not received on how the money would be spent.

Pursuant to Sec. 12-7(a) of Chapter 12 (Arts, Culture and Entertainment) of the City Code, any request for City Sponsorship of an event of $25,000 or more shall only be considered through the City Commission's annual budget process. All other requests for City sponsorship, pursuant to 12-7(b) shall require "(I) an advisory recommendation of the Finance and Citywide Projects Committee; and (ii) by a five-sevenths (5/7th) vote, of the City Commission," and 12-7(c) states that 'in considering approval of a Sponsorship for an event, "the City Commission may consider (I) whether the event organizer has exercised good-faith diligent efforts to apply for grant funding that may be available from the City's Visitor and Convention Authority ("CVA" or Cultural Arts Council ("CAC"); (ii) the Event organizer's history and performance in delivering quality Events, (iii) any benefits being directly provided to the general public with respect to the Event, such as free or discounted tickets to persons residing in the City of Miami Beach, seniors, veterans, or member of disadvantaged groups; (iv) whether the event is accessible to the general public (either as a ticketed event or otherwise); (v) the demonstrable economic impacts associated with the Event; (vi) the demonstrable media commitments secured by the Event organizer for the Event; or (vii) the efforts undertaken by the Event organizer to mitigate any quality of life impacts associated with the Event, including noise, littering, traffic or parking impacts associated with an Event."

The event consideration for sponsorship would meet the guidelines in the following manner:

1.Has the event applied for CAC or VCA?NO

2. How many years has the event been active on Miami Beach?ONE (1) YEAR

3. Does the event generate significant room nights on Miami Beach?NO

4. What is the public benefit provided by the event?Free event to all residents and visitors, educational component, health and wellness, and plastic free MB initiatives.

On April 19, 2019 the FCWPC voted to approve fee waivers as a sponsorship not to exceed $29,323,25, but asked the administration to continue to meet with the Mango Festival organizers in order to solidify information for any additional sponsorship opportunities.