Enjoy an action-packed weekend with the 17th annual Planes, Tunes and BBQ event at Wooton Park in Tavares. See seaplanes, live music and drones during the two-day event scheduled for Feb. 28 and March 1.

Seaplanes will soar in competition in America’s Seaplane City.

A Tavares tradition wings its way back to Lake County to Lake County with the 17th annual Planes, Tunes and BBQ event. The free two-day event will be held from 4 to 9 p.m. Feb. 28 and from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. March 1 at Wooton Park, 100 E. Ruby St. in Tavares.

Barbecue will be a big focus during the event.

“Any successful event runs on a full stomach, and who doesn’t love delicious Southern-style barbecue,” said Mark O’Keef, support services director.

Live entertainment will accompany the evening with performances from Florida-based artists Maggie Baugh and Reece on Feb. 28.

This will be Baugh’s return to the city, after first performing here in 2023. Since that performance, she has toured with Keith Urban, performed at the Country Music Hall of Fame, appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” and much more.

Along with barbecue and live music, there will be other food and merchandise vendors that will be selling goods during the event.

Mama Dukes Home Cooking is set to attend the event and is bringing chicken, burgers, hot dogs, salads and more.

The special of the day will be a barbecue pulled pork sandwich served with Mama’s potato salad and baked beans.

“Mama Dukes Home Cooking takes pride in cooking with love an array of homemade favorites and funnel cake foods,” said Stephanie Hall Murphy, owner of the food truck.

“Our menu is all made fresh, from scratch. We make our pizza dough by hand, our burgers are hand-patted, all our chicken is hand-breaded and our tortillas are freshly fried for nachos and tacos.”

From the hum of the flying drones to the buzz of seaplanes flying high, there will a lot of eyes to the sky during the second day of the event.

The Seaplane-A-Palooza seaplane flying contests will kick off at 11 a.m.

The competitions include fastest takeoff, spot landing, the melon bomb drop and power off landing.

Viewers can have a chance to take a photo with the pilots during the “Meet and Greet” portion of the event that runs from 1 to 3 p.m.

“This is one of our cornerstone events of the year,” O’Keef said. “Seaplanes are a huge draw. People love to see the planes come and go. The bomb drop also has been a longtime fan favorite.”

Between the seaplanes show in the morning and the nighttime drones show, people can enjoy other activities as barbecue, vendors and live music returns to the park for day two of the event.

The drones take flight around 8:10 p.m. with entertainment provided by Sky Element Drones.

Participants are advised to bring a chair or blanket for the outdoor event. For more information about the free show, visit tavaresfl.gov.

Staff writer Brea Jones can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5414, or brea.jones@thevillagesmedia.com.