2012 Florida seafood fest calendar

Posted by Bob Rountree on 09/25/2012 at 7:46 am

Cooking demonstrations are a feature of the Pensacola Seafood Festival

There’s little more authentic in Florida than an old-fashioned seafood festival, from traditional clambakes to oyster fests and stone crab jams.

Florida ranks among the top 12 states in the nation for seafood production, harvesting more than 90 million pounds every year from the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Ocean and the many bays and rivers that line Florida’s 1,350 miles of coastline.

According to the Florida Department of Agriculture, Florida fishermen catch more than 84 percent of the nation’s supply of grouper, pompano, mullet, stone crab, pink shrimp, spiny lobsters, and Spanish mackerel, as well as 100 percent of spiny lobster and 97 percent of stone crab.

So it’s only natural that the communities hosting this industry roll out the red carpet and celebrate with annual festivals featuring the local catch, local entertainment, arts and crafts and other events designed to put their stamp on our state’s seafood industry.

Seafood festivals are a rite of passage in Florida, and the season kicks off in late September.

Pensacola Seafood Festival – Sept. 28-30, 2012

2012 Pensacola Seafood Festival Poster

PENSACOLA — The seafood festival season kicks off in Seville Square downtown.

Food vendors circling the park serve up seafood gumbo, oyster croquettes, soft shell crab, coconut shrimp, Caribbean crab cakes and more.

The festival also features more than 160 arts and crafts booths, making it the largest arts and crafts festival in the Panhandle.

Seafood cooking demonstrations will be held throughout the weekend, and the 5K Run/Walk is always a popular event on Saturday morning.

Entertainment begins on Friday afternoon, bayside in Bertram Park, and continues through the weekend:

Friday: Nate Pennington, Parmalee and Roger Creagar
Saturday: Tobacco Road, Heritage, Wes Loper Band, the Molly Ringwalds
Sunday: The Lee Boys, Papa Grows Funk

Festival organizers have also teamed up with the 4th annual Pensacola Beach Songwriters Festival for SongFest2012. Songwriters will be performing in a special listening tent at the Fiesta Seafood Grille throughout the weekend. Get a sneak peak of the Pensacola Beach Songwriters Festival to be held October 2 to 7.

Weather: 6-day forecast

For more informaton: Visit www.fiestaoffiveflags.org/pensacola-seafood-festival

Destin Seafood Festival – Oct. 5-7, 2012

Destin Harbor Boardwalk

DESTIN — This year marks the 34^thyear for this venerable seafood fest, which takes place along picturesque Destin Harbor and the Harbor Boardwalk. More than 60,000 people are expected to savor fresh Gulf delicacies prepared by local restaurants and booth vendors. Local reggae, country and trop-rock musicians, along with headline acts, will provide the entertainment on six outdoor stages, and the annual Destin Fishing Rodeo will add to the excitement around the docks. This festival rocks.

Weather: 6-day forecast

Web site: www.destinseafoodfestival.org/

Oyster Spat Festival - Oct. 5-7, 2012

EASTPOINT and ST. GEORGE ISLAND – One of my favorite islands is hosting this annual 3-day Columbus Day Weekend festival, and there may be no better locale in Florida to celebrate this local seafood crop – the world-renowned Apalachicola Bay oyster. This festival features a food court manned by local non-profit organizations who are serving up fried, steamed, roasted and raw oyster dishes, and all of the oysters will be supplied local oystermen at affordable prices. As you might expect, the premier event is the oyster shucking tournament, which includes professionals as well as wannabeshuckers, with the winners (Master Shucker) in both the ladies and gents categories. Also on tap is a 5K run and an in-shore fishing tournament. Entertainment at the Lighthouse Park stage will feature blues, oldies, jazz, R&B and honky tonk country.

Weather: 6-day forecast

Web site: sgibusinesses.com/oyster-spat

See this VisitFlorida video about oystering: How to Do Florida: Oystering in Apalachicola Bay

St. Marks Stone Crab Festival – Oct. 20, 2012

St. Marks Stone Crab Fest

ST. MARKS – This small, community-oriented festival has been celebrating the opening of stone crab season every year since 1997, but this historic little fishing village has been around a lot longer than that! St. Marks was first settled 1527 at the confluence of the Wakulla and St. Marks rivers, near where they empty into Apalachee Bay, and stone crabs are not a sport here, it’s their business. The weather is always perfect towards the end of October, so enjoy the great food, music, parade and, of course, the crowning of the Stone Crab Queen! This same weekend features the Monarch Butterfly Festival at nearby St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refuge, and St. Marks is also not far from Wakulla Springs State Park.

Weather: 6-day forecast

Web site: stmarksstonecrabfest.com/St._Marks_Stone_Crab_Festival

Cedar Key Seafood Festival — Oct. 20-21, 2012

Looking for old Florida? This rustic outpost on the Gulf’s “forgotten coast” has a rich fishing history, and it is the nation’s No. 1 supplier of farm-raised clams, succulent red-tinged littlenecks that make your mouth water just looking at them. We love Cedar Key clams, and you’ll love their annual seafood festival. In addition to locally harvested seafood, the festival boasts more than 200 arts and crafts booths with live entertainment around town, day and night.

Weather: 6-day forecast

John’s Pass Seafood Festival – Oct. 26-28, 2012

MADEIRA BEACH – This festival is held at the colorful but touristy John’s Pass Village and Boardwalk on Gulf Boulevard on the busy barrier island separating St. Petersburg from the Gulf. This festival is more of a promotional event for the village’s 150 shops rather than a celebration of the seafood industry. The event kicks off on Friday night with a free concert and fireworks and continues all day Saturday and Sunday with a juried art show, street dance, fishing expo, seafood vendors and entertainment on the Food Court Stage. Admission is free. If you’re camping, I recommend Fort Desoto Park, just a few miles south.

Weather: 6-Day Forecast

Web site: http://johnspassfestivals.com/jpsf/

Naples Stone Crab Festival – Oct. 27-28, 2012

NAPLES — This is the second year for the freshly minted Naples Stone Crab Festival, which celebrates the kickoff of the stone crab season on the waterfront in upscale Naples. Sponsored by the Old Naples Waterfront Association, the festival is designed to show off the historic center of Naples. It also helps that this area of the Gulf Coast, especially nearby Everglades City and the Ten Thousand Islands, is one of Florida’s prime stone crab harvesting regions. Most of the events are hosted at waterfront businesses. Admission is free, though parking is $5. Free water taxis will transport you to all waterfront locations participating in the festival. Lots of hotels in Naples. My recommendation for campers is Collier-Seminole State Park on the Tamiami Trail, south of the city.

Weather: 6-day forecast

Web site: http://www.stonecrabfestival.org/

Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival – Oct. 27, 2012

NICEVILLE – If you’ve got mullet, flaunt it. And they have plenty of mullet in the waters of Choctawhatchee Bay and the bayous around Niceville, which is near Destin in Florida’s Panhandle. An estimated 4 tons will be consumed during this three-day Cajun country-flavored festival. In addition to tons of fried, smoked and Cajun recipe mullet, there should be an ample supply of oysters, crawfish and shrimp dishes on hand. A juried art show is also featured. The headline musical acts will be country music artists Colt Ford (Friday) and Jake Owen (Saturday). Admission between $10 and $15 per day.

Weather: 6-day forecast

Web site: http://mulletfestival.com/

Florida Seafood Festival – Nov. 2-3, 2012

APALACHICOLA – This two-day festival is Florida’s oldest maritime event, drawing thousands to the heart of Florida’s oyster kingdom at the mouth of the Apalachicola River on Apalachicola Bay. It can be dangerous to attend this festival, especially if you’re sitting in the first few rows of the oyster eating contest, where the winner will likely consume 250-300 oysters. More than a few contestants won’t win, and those sitting in the front rows may get a taste of their failure. Nevertheless, a rollicking good time is had by all. And you don’t want to miss the oyster shucking contest, which will go by in a flash. When I wrote this article, this year’s headline acts had not been announced, but last year featured country superstar Travis Tritt.

Weather: 6-day forecast

Web site: http://www.floridaseafoodfestival.com/

Read these related articles on Florida Rambler:

Florida Seafood Festival 2012

Best Florida Camping: A few favorites

Enjoy this video from VisitFlorida tourism: The Florida Seafood Festival

Sebastian Lagoon Clambake – Nov. 2-4, 2012

SEBASTIAN – I can personally attest to the quality of clams found in the Indian River Lagoon near Sebastian, and you can be sure you’ll get the best of the local harvest at Riverview Park for this annual festival that benefits community nonprofit groups in need of capital improvements. The festival features seafood booths, historic reenactments, a boat show and the popular chowder cook-off, where local chefs compete for the best New England, Manhattan and “non-traditional” chowders. Clams, naturally, are the main attraction, and you select from fried, baked, steamed and raw, not to mention a wide variety of other seafood and chowders. Admission is free.

Weather: 6-day forecast

Web site: http://www.sebastianclambake.org/

Stone Crab Jam – Nov. 3, 2012

CRYSTAL RIVER – This is the first of three consecutive weekend seafood festivals held along the Nature Coast, Florida’s “lost leg” at the foot of the Big Bend. The sparse population, preponderance of wildlife refuges with Gulf bays fed by cool waters from pristine freshwater springs makes this area one of the best in the state for seafood. Stone crabs near the top of that list, and Crystal River Stone Crab Jam aims to celebrate that distinction. This is also a year-round destination for the West Indian manatee. (No, we don’t eat manatees!) This is the Jam’s fifth year.

Weather: 6-day forecast

Web site: http://www.stonecrabjam.com/

Homosassa Seafood Festival – Nov. 10-11, 2012

HOMOSASSA – Just 11miles south of Crystal River is Homosassa, once a large sugar plantation and now a quiet retirement community on the Homosassa River, fed by Homosassa Spring. The town’s annual Seafood Festival marks its 37^th year in 2012, and it boasts an arts and crafts festival and a food court featuring local seafood, drawing crowds from nearby Gainesville, Tampa, Ocala and Brooksville. Although these waters are home to bay scallops, the tasty crustacean is not accessible to commercial harvest. Nevertheless, there’s some good seafood to savor here.

Weather: 6-day forecast

Web site: http://www.homosassaseafoodfest.com/

Yankeetown Seafood Festival – Nov. 17-18, 2012

YANKEETOWN — For thirty years, this tiny Gulf Coast community (population 629) has been attracting visitors to the Nature Coast for their annual seafood festival. If you’re looking for “old Florida,” this could be your destination on the banks of the Lower Withlacoochee River just three miles from the Gulf. The festival features locally caught Gulf seafood, entertainment, arts and crafts. Yankeetown is also a great destination for kayaking and fishing.

Weather: 6-day forecast

Web site: yankeetownseafoodfestival.com/

More seafood festivals on tap for 2013

During the busy holiday season, seafood festivals slip off the event calendar in Florida, but they return in full force in January.

The peak season for Florida’s seafood festivals is January through May, and many are still in the planning stages.

We’ll have an update with more information on these peak-season festivals as details become available.

Here are a couple you can look forward to:

Feb. 8-10 — Everglades City Seafood Festival

March 9-10 — Marathon Seafood Festival

Share this article with your friends:

Author: Bob Rountree Bob Rountree is a veteran Florida journalist who has been camping, biking, fishing, boating and paddling around the state since the 1980s. He is based in Deerfield Beach and New Smyrna Beach, travelling often to Florida's interior and west coast.

2012 Florida seafood fest calendar