Top 10 Drum Circles in Southwestern Florida

Immerse your soul to the beating of the drums at a southwest Florida drum circle. Expensive percussion equipment and advanced skill level not required. Outdoor drum circles are usually held on a beach or at a public park and never charge a fee to watch. There is no registration form to sign to join in a drum circle, just show up and follow the beat.

If images of some type of 1970's hippie fest spring to mind, you are about half right. While there are plenty of men with long hair and women gyrating in a tie-dyed t-shirts, they are only a fraction of the drum circle community. Businessmen who roll up their Brooks Brothers cuffs and ditch leather dress shoes for bare feet, senior citizens clad in polyester and scores of youngsters jumping around to the sound of the music are also a part of the drum circle scene.

Bamboo drums of all shapes and sizes are aligned side-by-side with homemade noise makers filled with uncooked beans and make-shifted tambourines. Drum circles typically begin either an hour before sunrise or sunset. After the group leader draws a circle in the sand and sprinkles some ceremonial words over the crowd, the foot tapping music begins.

Drum circles typically draw crowds of 100 to 500, so get their early if you want a ring-side seat. Music is not the only attraction at drum circle. Local belly dancing groups, children with hula-hoops and gymnastics often jump inside the circle and entertain the crowd. Participants get lost in the music and sense of togetherness the circle often elicits among members.

As the sun sets the drumming tempo quickens. Dancers, dripping with sweat and near exhaustion after an hour of graceful movement, keep pace with the beat and harken the closing of another day. Cheers float through the air simultaneously from the crowd which has been watching the show from lawn chairs and sipping on their favorite beverage.

Casey Key Drum Circle
Nokomis
Every Wednesday and Saturday

Tampa Unity Drum Circle
Sweetwater Farm
First Saturday of every month

Siesta Key Drum Circle
Siesta Key Beach
Every Sunday

Primal Connection Community Drum Circle
Sebring
Third Sunday of every month

Treasure Island Drum Circle
Treasure Island
Every Sunday

Shepard Park Drum Circle
Stuart
Every Sunday

Heart Beat Drum Circle
Lake Worth - Ocean Pier
Every other Sunday

Native American Women's Medicine Wheel Drum Circle
Spiral Circle - Orlando
Every Thursday

Drumming for Peace
New Smyrna Beach
First Friday of each month

Tribe Drum Circle
Friday Fest - Melbourne
Second Friday of every month