Baha Mar's busy season starts on October 21. For anyone living along West Bay Street, the next ten weeks of programming are sorted by price, and the price runs against how much of the island is in the room. The $40 day pass to the FUZE Art Fair lists eighteen Bahamas-linked artists. The Baha Mar Cup in December sells spectator access only as a resort package, and the cheapest one listed costs $8,000.
That pattern holds across the calendar, so it is a useful way to decide where to spend an evening. Baha Mar's festival page says the resort is welcoming "guests and locals alike" to the fifth Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival, which runs October 21 to 25, 2026. None of the ticket pages lists a resident or local discount. The real choice is which door to use.
Eighteen Bahamian artists behind a forty-dollar door
The FUZE Art Fair runs inside the festival's Culinary Expo at the Baha Mar Convention Center. It also has its own day pass. A Saturday or Sunday FUZE pass costs $40 and gives unlimited access to the FUZE Pavilion for that day.
The 2026 FUZE roster names these Bahamas-linked artists:
- Delton Barrett, Jason Bennett, Chantal Bethel, Dede Brown, Claudette Dean, Veronica Dorsett, Keva Fawkes, Tyrone Ferguson and Tamika Galanis
- Jordanna Kelly, Kachelle Knowles, Lavar Munroe, Lynn Parotti, Matthew David Rahming, Antonius Roberts, Heino Schmid, Edrin Symonette and Eddion Whyms
The list covers several generations of Bahamian art, from Antonius Roberts and Chantal Bethel to Kachelle Knowles and Tamika Galanis. All of it sits inside the festival's lowest-priced ticket, a few minutes' drive from most Cable Beach driveways.
Before you go, check one detail. The festival's events calendar lists the Culinary Expo & FUZE Art Fair on Saturday, October 24, starting at 11 a.m. The ticket page lists Expo hours as 12 to 6 p.m. on Saturday or Sunday. Confirm entry times with Baha Mar before you set out.
Moving up the price ladder, the program turns international
Above the FUZE pass, each step up adds food and drink, and the billing shifts toward visiting chefs and touring performers. A one-day Expo pass costs $195 and a two-day pass costs $250. Both include all-inclusive food and beverage, chef demonstrations by Marcus Samuelsson, Maneet Chauhan and others, wine seminars and tastings, art classes, crafts from local artisans, and access to the FUZE Art Fair. The Expo page mentions local vendors and artisans but does not name them.
From there, the ticketed events for festival week, October 21 to 25, 2026, look like this:
| Event | Date | Published price |
|---|---|---|
| FUZE Art Fair day pass | Sat. Oct. 24 or Sun. Oct. 25 | $40 |
| Afternoon Tea at The Library | Thu. Oct. 22 | $95 |
| The Island Table with Nina Compton and Tristen Epps | Fri. Oct. 23 | $150 |
| Culinary Expo & FUZE, one day / two days | Oct. 24–25 | $195 / $250 |
| Nawlin's Nightcap with Nina Compton, Jon Batiste & The Essence Band | Thu. Oct. 22 | $225 |
| Masterclass in The Kitchen with Daniel Boulud | Fri. Oct. 23 | $325 |
| Daniel Boulud's Alumni Dinner | Thu. Oct. 22 | $350 |
| A Taste of Baha Mar with OneRepublic, Gold / Platinum | Fri. Oct. 23 | $399 / $599 + VAT |
| Weekend Pass, Gold / Platinum | Oct. 21–25 | $599 / $899 + VAT |
A Taste of Baha Mar takes over Jasmine Lawn at 8 p.m. on Friday, October 23. It is an all-inclusive party with chef stations and cocktails from the resort's restaurants, followed by a live OneRepublic set. The top tier there is a Platinum Party Cabana at $12,500 plus VAT. Both weekend passes include the Taste party, the two-day Expo and the Art of the Plate dinner. Other à-la-carte events cost extra.
Bahamian talent appears at the higher tiers too. Baha Mar's July 2026 announcement names chef Simeon Hall Jr. and mixologist Marv "Mr. Mixx" Cunningham among the festival's participants. Still, the highest concentration of Bahamian names on any single ticket is at the bottom of the table.
On Sunday, October 25, Scott Conant hosts a "Sunday in Sicily" lunch at Leola. Leola is his restaurant on the casino level of Grand Hyatt Baha Mar. The festival's last event belongs to a Bahamian chef. Chef Simeon's Sunset BBQ with Mr. Mixx starts at 5 p.m. that evening at ECCHO for $200, and Baha Mar bills it as the festival's "one final celebration."
After the festival, access narrows one event at a time
The same pattern continues into November and December. Events that sell individual tickets stay within reach of neighbors. The event built around private access does not sell individual tickets at all.
October 31. The Nassau Paradise Island Promotion Board calendar lists The Ocean Masquerade at Jon Batiste's Jazz Club. The board notes that event details may change, so confirm with the venue.
November 1 to 30. Rosewood Baha Mar's calendar lists a month-long residency by Chef Alfredo Villanueva, Villa Torél, at Costa.
November 19 to 29. Baha Mar Hoops brings three U.S. college basketball tournaments to the Baha Mar Convention, Arts & Entertainment Center:
- The men's Baha Mar Championship, Thursday, November 19 and Friday, November 20, with Wisconsin, NC State, Seton Hall and Murray State
- The women's Pink Flamingo Championship, Monday, November 23 and Wednesday, November 25, with Iowa, Michigan, Toledo, Navy, Utah and Miami
- The Nassau Championship, Friday, November 27 and Sunday, November 29, with Illinois, Marquette, USC, Saint Joseph's, Iowa State and Belmont
Game tickets for the men's and women's tournaments are on sale through the official tournament ticket site, though no prices are published yet. Big-name college programs playing a few minutes from home is one of the season's more accessible draws.
December 2 to 17. WSOP Paradise returns to Baha Mar with 20 bracelet events and $120 million in total series guarantees.
December 10 to 13. The seventh Baha Mar Cup is hosted by John McEnroe and Mark Knowles. It benefits the Baha Mar Resort Foundation and the Mark Knowles Children's Tennis Initiative. This is where the pattern is clearest. The official page lists spectator access only through VIP resort packages, at $8,000 for three nights and $9,000 for four at Grand Hyatt, and $13,000 and $14,000 at Rosewood. No standalone spectator ticket price is published. A Cable Beach resident who wants to watch has no listed option short of booking a hotel stay a short drive from home.
December 31. Baha Mar's New Year's Eve page lists a Ludacris performance alongside "A Taste of Baha Mar," running past midnight into January 1, 2027.
The additions that need no calendar
The most lasting changes on the strip this fall don't depend on a ticket or an event date. Two new places opened at Baha Mar shortly before the season started. A Ministry of Tourism release on September 1, 2026, listed both.
Vibe BBQ is Marcus Samuelsson's barbecue restaurant on the East Beach Walkway, next to Grand Hyatt's Fortune Pool. The menu includes smoked brisket sandwiches, dry-rubbed ribs, coconut rice and peas, and M's cornbread. It is open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and reservations are recommended. Samuelsson is also among the chefs demonstrating at the Expo, so for the price of lunch, someone who skips festival week can still eat his cooking any day of the year.
The Studio is a podcast studio with a café and bar, steps from the water on Cable Beach. For anyone not recording, it serves coffee and espresso, breakfast and lunch, and cocktails from an indoor lounge and outdoor terraces, daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Leola has settled in as a regular dinner spot. Baha Mar's page lists it as open daily from 6 to 10 p.m., with reservations. Those hours come from a page dated July 2026, so call ahead before planning around them.
The season's last date is set for the public beach at Goodman's Bay. The first Run Bahamas race weekend starts there at 6 a.m. on January 31, 2027, with a full marathon, a four-person marathon relay, a half marathon, a 10K and the Colors of Courage 5K. The course runs along the waterfront stretch of West Bay Street, past Saunders Beach, Arawak Cay, and Rawson and Pompey Squares.
Season calendars change from year to year, and so do the places around them. At Bond Bahamas, we track both closely along Cable Beach and across New Providence. To see how this stretch of West Bay Street fits into daily life a short drive away, download the Balmoral Guide.
