Seafood Festival Celebrates 30 Years
By John Partin
Thirty years ago, local chamber and business leaders envisioned that this area
deserved a festival. These leaders knew the area was unique and easily set apart
from other festival locales. The area was richly endowed with a seafood history and
connection to the water. October is National Seafood Month and a beautiful coastal
month. The idea quickly formed to celebrate both the rich history of this water
community and seafood with a festival. Thus, the first NC Seafood Festival filled an
October weekend on the downtown waterfront of Morehead City with the blessing
of the city council and overwhelmed the founders with success. Now an acclaimed
top free festival in the United States, the North Carolina Seafood Festival will
welcome attendees with this 30th annual celebration on September 30-October 2.
The Seafood Festival is a not-for-profit organization of Carteret County citizens
and business people, in conjunction with the town of Morehead City. It seeks to
boost tourism, introduce and educate the public to seafood, and promote the social
and economic impact of the seafood industry. Sponsored by the NC Department
of Agriculture—Seafood Division, it is a perfect partner for the “Got to be NC”
promotions that champion products grown, raised, caught and made in North
Carolina. North Carolina nonprofit and educational organizations, in addition
to established scholarships for pursuits relative to the seafood industry, are the
beneficiaries of funds raised.
Visitors to the Seafood Festival discover a mammoth outdoor experience. The
highlights include an endless variety of seafood prepared in both traditional and
unexpected dishes, street dances, concerts, arts and crafts, a popular flounder
fling, an international award-winning chefs tent, games, fireworks, the Southern
Outer Banks Boat Show, road race, sailing regatta, educational exhibits, hands-on
programs for kids, rides and games.
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The chefs tent, located at the corner of 4th and Evans streets, hosts a showcase
event where renowned chefs throughout the southeast stage exhibitions on seafood
preparation and cooking. On Saturday, beginning at 10 a.m., 50 guests will be
seated each hour to watch an exhibition and sample a variation of “Trash Fish.”
Trash fish cooking has been featured in many upscale publications, and refers to a
growing appreciation for underutilized seafood or discarded “bycatch.” Participants
in tasting are sure to be delighted and surprised. On Sunday, the Food Lion
Cooking Challenge will feature eight chefs vying for the coveted Chef s Hat award.
A panel of four prestigious judges will narrow the field to two competitors and be
joined by 25 randomly selected people to select the winner, a peoples choice.
The chefs event will also proudly have as an exhibition chef Holly Hedrick,
cookbook author, food critic and chef from Charleston, SC. Ms. Hedrick will be an
exhibition chef on Sunday, and will later be autographing her newest cookbook at
Dee Gee’s Gifts & Books at 508 Evans Street.
Recognized name entertainers perform on three different-themed stages
beginning Friday night and continuing until Sunday afternoon. At the Agri Supply
Main Stage, Uncle Kracker will perform Friday night with opening act Brooke
Eden. The headline event on Saturday will be Michael Ray with opening acts CJ
Solar and Carly Price. Michael Ray is known for his debut single, “Kiss You in the
Morning,” which reached number one on Country Airplay. Another hit, “Real Men
Love Jesus,” aided his nomination of Breakthrough Male of the Year at the 2016
American Country Countdown Awards. Tickets for these concerts will be available
at ncseafoodfestival.org.
Capping off this evening entertainment will be a fireworks display from
Sugarloaf Island, creating a spectacular sight reflecting off Bogue Sound. It
promises to be the best fireworks display in North Carolina.
At the Blessing of the Fleet on Sunday, thanks are given for our state’s resource
of seafood. The poignant ceremony pays tribute to those who bring seafood to the
nation’s tables and to those waterinen who have lost lives on the water making their
living. The NC State Port hosts the ceremony, with participating boats gathered to
honor the watermen and the sea.
Free parking for the festival is available on Saturday and Sunday at the NC State
Port in Morehead City and includes a free shuttle to and from the festival. The •
port parking includes handicapped accessible spaces and a handicapped accessible
shuttle. Other lots adjacent to the festival are operated by community groups, with
most charging a modest fee. Designated handicapped accessible spaces are also
available on the north side of Arendell Street between 7th and 8th streets and on
the south side of Arendell between 8th and 9th streets.
Detailed information is available at ncseafoodfestival.org or on Twitter at
#NCSeafoodFest. Explore and plan a visit to this award-winning event: discover
seafood, buy a souvenir, take a picture with festival mascot SasSea and take home a
memory. The North Carolina Seafood Festival—where seafood and seafun meet.
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Jane Gordon,
Attorney at Law
Kirkman, Whitford, Brady,
Berryman & Farias, PA
General Practice Attorneys
jgordon@kirkmanwliitford.com
710 Arendell Street • Morehead City, NC 28557
252-726-8411
lawyers@kirkmanwhitford.com • www.kirkmanwhitford.com