Seafood Festivals
With the popularity of seafood, it is no surprise there are festivals all over celebrating it. Florida has 10 festivals annually. They offer food, fun, crafts, fireworks, and entertainment for the whole family. Vendors line the streets selling everything from drinks to toys to household items. Manville, Louisiana holds one of the largest and most famous seafood festivals. It is an annual event, lasting 4 days. The event donates all the earnings to non-profit organizations in the area. This amount is generally between $64,000 and $80,000 per year.
The Maryland seafood festival has been taking place for 40 years. There are 35 seafood festivals that occur each year in various locations throughout the state of Maryland. All are supported by the Maryland Department of Agriculture Seafood Marketing and Aquaculture Development. The purpose of the group is to promote the importance of the seafood industry.
The Fiesta of Five Flags sponsors the Annual Pensacola Seafood Festival in Florida. It has been taking place for 30 years. This festival is very big, and full of fun things to do. It has been on the Top 20 event list in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society for the past 14 years. Each year, the celebration continues to grow in participation and spectators.
The vendors that participate in such seafood festivals often make their living by following the schedules of such festivals and purchasing space to sell various types of foods. Some such vendors are on the road up to 50 weeks per year. They make a decent living, but with the cost of travel, the cost of seafood, and the number of competing vendors, it is an ongoing job that sometimes barely breaks even.
Such seafood festivals sound like a fun opportunity to get to know some of the history of towns that rely on seafood sales to make a living. Many of the older people are glad to tell stories of early fishing and boating in the industry. Enjoy the music, the crafts, and most of all enjoy all the wonderful seafood to choose from!
