FESTIVALS FEATURE SEA'S BOUNTY
“The Southeast Tourism Society has seen a marked increase in the number of seafood festivals applying to be a Top 20 Event,” says Neville Bhada, vice president of communications and public relations for the Atlanta-based society that awards Top 20 designations to Southeast festivals for each month. Several top festivals, like the North Carolina Seafood Festival along the state’s Crystal Coast, and the National Shrimp Festival in Alabama’s Gulf Shores, have been around for decades, attracting thousands of hungry veterans and first-time festival-goers.
Originally published in Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There are some newcomers to the festival scene, including one on North Carolina’s Bald Head Island that will highlight the area’s ingredients — lots of local seafood, plus award-winning wines.
While seafood (and often beverages) is the focus for these festivals, there’s much more to see, do and eat. Music, shopping, children’s activities and more are typically on the menu. Fees for attending, participating and eating also vary greatly, ranging from free to a few dollars and $100-plus for exclusive dinners that feature creative seafood and world-class wines.
Catch these tasty festivals:
Pensacola Seafood Festival, Pensacola, Fla., Sept. 25-27, 850-433-6512, www.fiestaoffive flags.org.
The Pensacola Seafood Festival is a perennial favorite for good reason. Now in its 32nd year, it brings vendors, artists and hungry attendees to downtown Pensacola’s historic oak-studded Seville Square to enjoy mouth-watering seafood, live music and arts and crafts. There are live cooking demonstrations by local chefs, a 5-kilometer run/walk, a children’s area and SplashDogs competition for water-loving canines.
North Carolina Wine & Food Weekend, Bald Head Island, N.C., Sept. 25-27, 910-457-7440, www.baldheadisland.com.
The first annual North Carolina Wine & Food Weekend will take place on Bald Head Island in late September. Accessed only by ferry or private boat and with no cars allowed (visitors and residents travel by golf cart), Bald Head Island is ideal for a festival focusing on local cuisine. Friday night’s “N.C. Uncorked” will start the festivities with a focus on award-winning North Carolina wines.
Other events will include an open-air market and grand tasting with local seafood and products; a scavenger-style wine and food race; and a Sunday morning sparkling wine brunch with fresh-from-the-docks seafood.
Epcot International Food & Wine Festival, Walt Disney World Resort, Lake Buena Vista, Fla., Sept. 25-Nov. 8, 407-WDW-FEST, www.disneyworld.com/foodandwine.
Now in its 14th year, the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival is unlike any other festival in the region. Taking place at Epcot in land-locked Walt Disney World, more than two dozen “marketplaces” representing destinations serve up tapas-sized portions, with this year’s possibilities including rock shrimp ceviche from Chile, seared barramundi from Argentina, maple-glazed salmon from Canada, New Orleans crawfish etouffée, New England-style crab cakes, and sea scallops from New Zealand.
Other festival highlights include: daily seminars and demonstrations; food-focused shopping; and “Eat to the Beat” concerts like Kool & The Gang, Jon Secada and many more. The seven-week-long festival means a menu of possibilities. Chef Tory McPhail of Commander’s Palace in New Orleans will cook up fresh seafood for the Oct. 31 Party for the Senses and his Nov. 2 culinary demonstration.
Beaufort Shrimp Festival, Beaufort, S.C., Oct. 2-3, 843-525-6644, www.downtownbeaufort.com.
The Beaufort Shrimp Festival is a small town gem on the South Carolina coast. Local Low Country restaurants offer samples of dishes featuring shrimp, with prizes awarded for best recipe, most creative dish and more. With lighted shrimp boats as the backdrop, there’s also live entertainment, a 5-kilometer run, historic walking tours, arts and crafts and children’s activities.
North Carolina Seafood Festival, Crystal Coast (Emerald Isle, Atlantic Beach, Morehead City, Beaufort, and Cape Lookout), N.C., Oct. 2-4, 252-726-6273, www.ncseafoodfestival.org.
Now in its 23rd year, the North Carolina Seafood Festival features an array of Tar Heel State seafood for more than 225,000 attendees and has raised more than $2 million for charities since 1987.
Highlights here include: Cooking with the Chefs demonstrations, fresh-from-the-docks seafood featuring Carteret Catch fish and more, children’s activities, five live music stages, fireworks, a fishing tourney, a boat show and an 8-kilometer race.
National Shrimp Festival, Gulf Shores, Ala., Oct. 8-11, 251-968-7220, www.nationalshrimp festival.com.
Alabama’s National Shrimp Festival will take place for the 38th time this October. Held each year in Gulf Shores, highlights of this multifaceted festival includes: 300-plus vendors featuring fine art, arts and crafts, and lots of food from restaurants and purveyors; a live entertainment schedule; Children’s Activity Village; 10k run and more.
Taste of the Beach, Gulf Coast, Fla., Nov. 5-8, 850-267-0683, www.tasteofthebeach.com.
Taking place along northwest Florida’s Gulf Coast, Taste of THE Beach features more than 225 miles of white sand coastline and charming seaside towns, a scenic seafood festival backdrop.
This year‘s schedule features: Destin’s Taste of THE Harbor (the festival kick-off featuring area chefs and distinctive wines); Taste of Bay Wine & Food Experience in Panama City Beach; Al Fresco Reserve Tasting at Ruskin Place (Seaside); and the Seeing Red Wine Festival (streets of Seaside).