Florida Keys Seafood Festival

The 8th Annual Florida Keys Seafood Festival was held on Saturday, January 19, 2013, from 11:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., at Bayview Park (corner of Truman Avenue & Jose Marti Drive) in Key West.  Parking info: $5 per car at Horace O'Bryant Middle School parking lot, 1105 Leon Street, adjacent to Bayview Park.

The 2013 Festival included the following:

On the Menu - Fried Fish, Grilled Spiny Lobster, Stone Crab Claws, Pick 'n Peel Key West Pink Shrimp, Smoked Fish Dip with crackers, Fried Clam Strips, Lobster Bisque, and Conch Fritters, Conch Chowder & Conch Salad.  Hot dogs and hamburgers were also for sale.  Beverages sold were beer, wine, water, and soda.  Desserts, such as Estella's Famous Flan, Key Lime Tarts, and soft ice cream were available for purchase.

Entertainment - Emcee Captain Marlin Scott
Live music started at 11:00 a.m. and concluded at 8:00 p.m.
11:00 a.m.  to 12:00 p.m. - Bahama Village Music Program
12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. - KeyRazy Band
  2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. - Sauce Boss
  5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. - The Rejects

Raffles were drawn after 2:00 p.m. between band breaks.

Children's Activities - The basketball court on Virginia Street was transformed into a children's playground, a/k/a the "Kid's Fun Zone" featuring a Bounce House, Giant Slide, and Rock Climbing, just to name a few!

For more information regarding the Florida Keys Seafood Festival, call Vicki Gale, Event Coordinator, at (305) 872-9026, Fax (305) 292-4415, or e-mail: vicki@fkcfa.org or send correspondence via U.S. mail to:
Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen's Association
PO Box 501404
Marathon, FL 33050-1404
Website: www.fkcfa.org

The date for the 9th Annual Florida Keys Seafood Festival is set for Saturday, January 18 & Sunday, January 19, 2014.

Proceeds from FKCFA's cookbook goes toward their scholarship fund for Florida Keys students.

To order the cookbook "Ocean Flavors and More!" call Vicki Gale at 305-872-9026 or e-mail her at vicki@fkcfa.org.
Click here to see businesses in the Keys that have the cookbook for sale.

"Slide Show" of the 2013 Seafood Festival

Photo Galleries

Photo Gallery of the 8th Annual Seafood Festival 2013

Photo Gallery of the 7th Annual Seafood Festival 2012

Photo Gallery of the 6th Annual Seafood Festival 2011

Photo Gallery of the 5th Annual Seafood Festival 2010

Photo Gallery of the 4th Annual Seafood Festival 2009

Photo Gallery of the 3rd Annual Seafood Festival 2008

Photo Gallery of the 2nd Annual Seafood Festiva 2007

Photo Gallery of the 1st Annual Seafood Festival 2006


2013 Sponsors

Click on a logo to go to the website.

 

keynoter

   TDCstock island lobster co

monroe county extension servicesfresh from florida gulf seafood
pirate radiomarine underwriters

marriott courtyard waste management

first state bankkeys fisheriesblaylock oil company

budweiser coca colacentennial bank
gfs marketplace aljoma lumber
titan lumbercudjoe sales

key west expressbrutus seafoodsigns unlimited

More Sponsors:

Atlantic & Gulf Fishing Supply Co.

Blue Ocean Seafood

Dolphin Hydraulics, Inc.

Eco Products by P.H.P., Inc.

Elite Sky Seafood

E.M.C. Oil Co.

Fanci Seafood, Inc.

Gulf Manufacturing Co.

Hak Hide, LLC

Island Tee Shirt Graphics

Key Largo Fisheries, Inc.

Key West Engine Service, Inc.

Key West Marine Hardware, Inc.

Monroe County Public Works/Solid Waste

Ryan Construction Services

Suburban Propane


Origin and Purpose of the
Florida Keys Seafood Festival

The Seafood Festival celebrates our community by bringing families and friends together in a joyful and fun environment to sample the local catch.  This family-friendly event was created to showcase local seafood and the Keys' commercial fishing industry by providing the freshest seafood available. Each year our fishermen and women are proud to offer the community a variety of seafood at reasonable prices.

It is hoped that this festival will become an annual event that people can plan their vacations around, since it conveniently falls on a Saturday, the start of a three-day holiday weekend (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, is always the third Monday in January).  We also hope to raise money for the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association (FKCFA), an industry association to use in providing a sustainable future for the many local fisheries within the Florida Keys. With some of the proceeds from the festival, FKCFA sponsors scholarships for children of local fishermen from Key Largo to Key West.

The absence of a seafood festival in Key West has been obvious for many years.  However, it took the devastating hurricane season of 2005 that wiped out 75% of the fishing gear to provide the needed motivation for finally making this now successful event possible. It took the combined efforts of the FKCFA and UF/IFAS/Monroe County Extension Services to make the first festival in 2006 possible.  While the fishermen caught, cleaned, and cooked the seafood, the Extension staff organized and coordinated the logistics.

            The fishermen and their families work hard at preparing the delicious seafood dishes. Not only will we have the best prices in town, we will also have the freshest shrimp, lobster, and crab. In addition, you can enjoy conch salad, conch fritters, and conch chowder prepared with local recipes.  Let’s not forget the sweets that will be available like Flan and Key Lime Pie.  And of course libations will be sold as well as soda and water.

            This is a day of fun, food, music, and entertainment you do not want to miss!

 

 

FKCFA seafood festival logo

Vicki Gale
Event Coordinator

FKCFA logo

Bill Kelly
FKCFA Executive Director