{"id":426,"date":"2026-05-13T17:02:37","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T17:02:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=426"},"modified":"2026-05-13T17:02:37","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T17:02:37","slug":"iconic-arabian-nights-festival-returns-to-opa-locka-after-decades-long-hiatus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=426","title":{"rendered":"Iconic Arabian Nights festival returns to Opa-locka after decades-long hiatus"},"content":{"rendered":"<article><!-- --><!-- --><!-- WPS-5038 -- removed the script from WPS and added the placeholder for trinity player --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- CONTENT --><!--[--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>It has been far more than 1,001 nights since Opa-locka held its marquee Arabian Nights parade and festival, but the city plans to bring back the once-iconic cultural celebration on Saturday, May 16 in honor of its centennial.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=424\">MDSO asks for public\u2019s help after it says suspect almost ran over detectives<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201c We were a city built on the tale of the Arabian Nights. It\u2019s the culture of our community, and it\u2019s always been. We were built to stand out, and we are unique. It\u2019s been my mission to rebirth this festival,\u201d said Opa-locka Mayor John H. Taylor Jr.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Founded in 1926 by aviation pioneer and developer Glenn H. Curtiss, the Miami-Dade city was named after an abbreviation of the Tequesta Native American word \u201cOpa-tisha-wocka-locka\u201d meaning, roughly, \u201cdry island amid the swamp.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Opa-locka was built as a themed city modeled after the fictional world of \u201c1,001 Arabian Nights.\u201d Many of the city\u2019s buildings, including the historic City Hall, were crafted in the style of Moorish architecture with domes, minarets and outdoor staircases. The purpose was to attract buyers and visitors to a city that seemed to be plucked out of a storybook.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Today, Opa-locka has the largest collection of Moorish revival architecture in the western hemisphere, though many original Arabian-themed homes have been demolished.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p><b>READ MORE: Heritage trail celebrates city of Opa-Locka and its architectural gems<\/b><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<h2>Festival<\/h2>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>In honor of the city\u2019s unique theming, beginning around 1927, Opa-locka began hosting an Arabian Nights parade that eventually evolved into a music festival.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Diane Ricke remembers some of the early parades from her youth in the 1940s and 50s.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201c Oh, that was a lot of fun. There was even a parade, and then you always had to get dressed up in your Arabian Nights costume. My costume was frilly. I don\u2019t think there were big floats because it was just a small town, but I know it was always fun,\u201d Ricke told WLRN.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=423\">Florida shipping companies settle lawsuits for use of Port of Mariel in Cuba<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p><b>READ MORE: The untold story of the pioneering aviator who founded Miami Springs<\/b><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Ricke was born in Opa-locka in 1934 on one of the city\u2019s uniquely named streets in a Moorish home with an arched entryway and tiled floors.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201c I may be the only person who can say they were born on Sesame Street. I did not live with Big Bird, but instead in a house at 1216 Sesame Street in Opa-locka,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The festival has been on a years-long hiatus. The city government was at the center of several high-profile scandals in recent decades and a period of near-bankruptcy.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The current administration has worked to restore much of Opa-locka\u2019s traditions as well as faith in its government following those troubled years. The historic City Hall re-opened last year after a long period of closure and now serves as an events and gathering place in the Moorish revival style.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>Mayor Taylor said the revival of the Arabian Nights parade and festival is the latest step in that path of revival.<\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>\u201c We just wanted to make sure when we brought it back, that we brought it back right. You only have one time to rebirth something, so we said, \u2018Let\u2019s do it on our 100th year,\u2019 \u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p>The festival will feature musical performances from R&amp;B, hip-hop and Afrobeats artists, including Opa-locka natives Ball Greezy and Tierra Traniece. After the parade, attendees can also visit an artisan marketplace and learn about Opa-locka\u2019s centennial history.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=421\">Man pleads guilty to South Beach tourist murder. He said he was high on mushrooms<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p><i>WLRN\u2019s Carlton Gillespie contributed to this report.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><!--]--><!--[--><\/p>\n<p><i>This report was produced by Miami Herald news partner WLRN Public Media.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><!-- --><!--]--><!--]--><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><!-- --><\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Opa-locka revives its iconic Arabian Nights parade and festival on May 16 for the city centennial, celebrating Moorish architecture, music and local heritage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[38],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-426","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-miami-gardens-opa-locka"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Iconic Arabian Nights festival returns to Opa-locka after decades-long hiatus - Florida Moving Chronicle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=426\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Iconic Arabian Nights festival returns to Opa-locka after decades-long hiatus - Florida Moving Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Opa-locka revives its iconic Arabian Nights parade and festival on May 16 for the city centennial, celebrating Moorish architecture, music and local heritage.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=426\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Florida Moving Chronicle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-13T17:02:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=426#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=426\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/482f60b6a0b7cc84b37966d78057552f\"},\"headline\":\"Iconic Arabian Nights festival returns to Opa-locka after decades-long hiatus\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-13T17:02:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=426\"},\"wordCount\":634,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=426#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/24b765e10f4b2eaf58fc987df2464e42.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Miami Gardens - Opa-locka\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=426#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=426\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=426\",\"name\":\"Iconic Arabian Nights festival returns to Opa-locka after decades-long hiatus - Florida Moving Chronicle\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=426#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=426#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/24b765e10f4b2eaf58fc987df2464e42.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-13T17:02:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/482f60b6a0b7cc84b37966d78057552f\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=426#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=426\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=426#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/24b765e10f4b2eaf58fc987df2464e42.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/24b765e10f4b2eaf58fc987df2464e42.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":674},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?p=426#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Iconic Arabian Nights festival returns to Opa-locka after decades-long hiatus\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Florida Moving Chronicle\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/482f60b6a0b7cc84b37966d78057552f\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/floridamovingchronicle.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Iconic Arabian Nights festival returns to Opa-locka after decades-long hiatus - Florida Moving Chronicle","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=426","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Iconic Arabian Nights festival returns to Opa-locka after decades-long hiatus - Florida Moving Chronicle","og_description":"Opa-locka revives its iconic Arabian Nights parade and festival on May 16 for the city centennial, celebrating Moorish architecture, music and local heritage.","og_url":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=426","og_site_name":"Florida Moving Chronicle","article_published_time":"2026-05-13T17:02:37+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=426#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=426"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/#\/schema\/person\/482f60b6a0b7cc84b37966d78057552f"},"headline":"Iconic Arabian Nights festival returns to Opa-locka after decades-long hiatus","datePublished":"2026-05-13T17:02:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=426"},"wordCount":634,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=426#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/24b765e10f4b2eaf58fc987df2464e42.jpg","articleSection":["Miami Gardens - Opa-locka"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=426#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=426","url":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=426","name":"Iconic Arabian Nights festival returns to Opa-locka after decades-long hiatus - Florida Moving Chronicle","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=426#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=426#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/24b765e10f4b2eaf58fc987df2464e42.jpg","datePublished":"2026-05-13T17:02:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/#\/schema\/person\/482f60b6a0b7cc84b37966d78057552f"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=426#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=426"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=426#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/24b765e10f4b2eaf58fc987df2464e42.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/24b765e10f4b2eaf58fc987df2464e42.jpg","width":1200,"height":674},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?p=426#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Iconic Arabian Nights festival returns to Opa-locka after decades-long hiatus"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/","name":"Florida Moving Chronicle","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/#\/schema\/person\/482f60b6a0b7cc84b37966d78057552f","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com"],"url":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=426"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=426"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=426"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/floridamovingchronicle.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=426"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}