Everglade Seafood Festival

Wow, what a weekend.  We traveled down to Everglades this weekend to do the ever popular Everglade Seafood Festival.  This event has been a favorite of mine since the first time I exhibited in 2009.  The crowds are large and appreciative and the food is out of this world.  Every type of seafood you could ask for as well as the standards, BBQ, corndogs and funnel cakes. 

The event spans a three day period and offers non-stop music. There were local entertainers, David Nail from Nashville, The Wild Eyed Southern Boys with the headliner being the Low Cash Cowboys.  The Cowboys are very entertaining and brought the crowd to their feet and playing their latest soon to be released, C-O-U-N-T-R-Y. 

As I said, the crowds were fantastic with shoulder to shoulder people all through the weekend.  The weather was gorgeous and the motorcyclists came out in force.  There were bikes there from Ontario, Canada; Athens County, Ohio and all parts of Florida.  A great chapter from Ft. Myers came in on Sunday, 22 members strong.

I had my display set up with slate, wood signs and pet signs.  I received many favorable comments, and did a couple custom signs while I was there.   The dog and cat signs were hot sellers and I sold a few wooden and slate signs.

If you are in the area, or thinking of a little vacation, this festival is held the 1st full weekend in February every year in the small town of Everglade City, where time seems to stand still.   I know I look forward to next year; enjoying more music, more food and more fun. 

Wandering Wednesday - Apalachicola Seafood Festival

Today's trip is to the Apalachicola Seafood Festival in the panhandle of Florida. Held each year in the fall, this quaint town welcomes thousands for seafood, entertainment and arts and crafts.

What a beautiful trip along the coastline and into this quaint town. The beautiful beaches and white sand with sea oats. New homes with a sprinkling of period cracker houses. Just breath taking.

Apalachicola is known for it's fresh seafood, mainly oysters. As we approached the town we could see the gulf and could not help take the bridge over the water to watch the fisherman use crude rake like tools to bring the oysters up from the bottom of the water. Another person was sorting and bagging for the market.

There are many seafood outlets in the area, but the main market are the local restaurants. Our favorite is Boss Oysters. Several years ago, we stumbled across this rustic restaurant. Patrons without fortitude would have turned back as we walked into an old building with an slanting floor and a very dark environment. We asked to sit outside, and was taken to a primitive screen porch where we could see the fisherman rinsing the oysters as they were taken off of the boat. Well, that was years ago, and before the terrible hurricanes. This time we were welcomed to a remodeled restaurant with a great bright decor. The bar had remained the same so the original charm hadn't been lost. And our dinner; we had the best oyster stew and I enjoyed fried oysters while my husband had fresh prawns. Mmmmmm.

As we walked back to our motor home, we were drawn to the sound of music coming from the large wrap around porch of the local hotel. An entertainer was playing piano and singing easy tunes. A perfect ending to a delicious dinner and quiet evening with Mike.

Our show was successful and we met many people. Some came in from other areas to enjoy the festival, and the locals enjoyed themselves as well. The main entertainment was country music entertainer Tracy Lawrence. We enjoyed the music, even if we couldn't see him. A good time was had by all.

The people of this area are very warm and inviting and made us feel at home. I recommend you add this area to your list of places to visit. We hated leaving but we had to move on to another adventure and to make new friends.