FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. — The Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival is making its grand return to Fernandina Beach for its 60th year. What started in the early 1960’s as a series of shrimp boat races, now has grown into one of the city’s most iconic and anticipated events.
This year, the festival is serving up a blend of exciting new experiences and returning favorites with shrimp prepared in every way imaginable.
“This year we actually have a shrimp boat that the public can go and walk on and take a tour and learn about shrimping, it will be tied to the docks and it’s open to the public. We also have a shrimp eating contest this year, so that’s a first for us, we never had a shrimp eating contest,” said Shrimp Festival Chairman, Scott Inglis.
This event will include a variety of activities such as a pageant, a decorated shrimp boat contest and a shrimp run.
Festivities begin on Thursday May 1st, with the Shrimp Fest Parade. Throughout the weekend, people can enjoy live entertainment, tasty food, and a chance to experience the culture of Fernandina Beach.
“We have a lot of entertainment; we have over 400 artist booths that have been juried in from all across the country. We also have two streets of antique collectibles,” said Inglis.
The Shrimp Festival provides a platform to showcase small businesses, with more than 40 vendors and 10 nonprofit organizations taking part in this weekend-long event.
“The Shrimp Festival itself generates about 400,000 dollars for nonprofits in the Nassau County area. That can be anywhere from parking cars at the high school to serving different varieties of food. This year we have over 14 food booths that are run by nonprofits and at least 12 of them are serving local shrimp,” said Inglis.
This event will take place on May 2nd-4th in Downtown Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island.
For more information, visit https://www.shrimpfestival.com/
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