Nearly 70 Silleteros to March Through Wynwood as Miami Shuts Six Blocks

Nearly 70 silleteros from Santa Elena, Colombia, will carry handcrafted floral displays through the streets of Wynwood on Sunday, bringing a centuries-old Medellín tradition to Miami for a parade that will shut down six blocks of the arts district. The Feria de las Flores Wynwood 2026 festival kicks off Saturday and runs through Sunday evening, with the Silleteros Parade serving as its marquee event from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

According to a news release from the Miami Police Department, Antioquia Global is hosting the two-day cultural festival celebrating the traditions, gastronomy, music, arts and heritage of Antioquia, Colombia. The release, prepared by Sgt. P. Cardonne and reviewed by Lt. J. Sadler under Chief Edwin Lopez, describes the parade as the signature attraction of the flower festival and calls it a centuries-old tradition. Organizers with Antioquia Global say the 2026 event marks the first time Medellín's official silleteros festival delegation has been held directly in Miami, with more than 12,000 attendees expected, according to Venezuela Awareness.

The silletas themselves are no small feat of craftsmanship or strength. These handcrafted wooden structures, loaded with flowers, can weigh up to 70 kilograms — more than 150 pounds — and are carried on the backs of the silleteros, per Medellin360. The tradition traces back to May 1, 1957, when 40 flower farmers from Santa Elena first descended into Medellín carrying wooden floral displays, as detailed by MedellinGuru.

Road Closures and Timing

Miami Police will close the roadway from NW 2nd Avenue to NW Miami Court, between NW 21st Street and NW 22nd Street, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday, prohibiting vehicular traffic in that stretch for the duration of the closure. The road is expected to reopen at 3 p.m. the same day, and a road closure map attached to the release confirms the same window. Officers will be stationed throughout the event area to provide security and assist with pedestrian and vehicular traffic, and motorists are encouraged to use alternate routes.

Festival hours run 10 a.m. to 3 a.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, with the parade itself confined to the 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. window. Anyone with questions about the event can contact the Special Events Office at 305-603-6510, while general inquiries can go through the department's Public Information Office, located at 400 N.W. 2 Ave., Room 220.

A National Cultural Symbol on Display in Wynwood

The silleteros parade isn't just a local custom back home — it carries formal legal weight in Colombia. The Colombian Congress passed Law 838 in 2003, declaring the silleteros and Medellín's Flower Fair as Cultural Heritage of the Nation, and the tradition earned national Intangible Cultural Heritage status in 2014, according to Medellin360. Silleteros traditionally compete across five recognized artistic categories — traditional, monumental, emblematic, commercial and creative — judged during Medellín's flagship festival, per Charlie on the Move.

Bringing that heritage to Wynwood taps into deep economic and demographic ties between South Florida and Colombia. Miami-Dade County has the largest population of Colombian-origin residents of any county in the United States, and Florida is home to more than 31% of the nation's Colombian American population, according to the Pew Research Center. Miami International Airport also plays an outsized role in the flower trade itself, handling roughly 91% of all U.S. air cargo flower imports — nearly 400,000 tons annually valued at $1.6 billion, per CBS News. More than 70% of those cut-flower imports originate in Colombia, representing roughly $2 billion in annual trade, as reported by WLRN.

Wynwood, the host neighborhood, is no stranger to large crowds. The arts district spans 50 city blocks and draws more than 3 million visitors a year to its open-air gallery scene, according to the Wynwood Business Improvement District. This weekend, that foot traffic will share the streets with silleteros carrying blooms grown in the same country that supplies most of the flowers passing through Miami's airport every year.