Fernandina has one of the best and biggest shrimp festivals on the coast. This year the popular Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival is scheduled for May 3 – May 6, 2013, and this year the festival is 50 years old. Fernandina Shrimp Festival is traditionally held the first weekend in May in the Historic downtown Centre Street business district in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island, Florida.
Pirate Parade
The party kicks off already in April this year, with the Shrimp Pirate Parade on Saturday, April 27, 2013 at 11 a.m. You’ll get to see all kinds of creations in this unique parade – from pirate ships to gigantic shrimp. The theme for the 2013 Pirate Parade “The Year of the Golden Shrimp – celebrating 50 years of fun”, and I can’t wait to see what interesting floats are going this year.
Here is our video from the parade
Pirate Invasion
Then on Friday , May 3, 2013, it’s time for the opening ceremony of the festival, the miss Shrimp Festival pageant and the invasion of the pirates Friday night. The food court opens on Friday at 6 pm, then the opening ceremony starts around 6.30 p.m. The invasion of the pirates takes place at the riverfront at 9.30 pm and many of the locals consider this to be the most important event of the festival. The evening ends with fireworks.
Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival – Amelia Island
Then on both Saturday and Sunday you can enjoy delicious shrimp. There’s lots and lots of delicious local shrimp available at the waterfront. There’s also a fine arts & crafts show, antique and collectible show, live marine sea circus and shrimp aquarium display, kids zone, live entertainment and much much more.
There’s also a bunch of contests; Best Decorated Boat, Best Little Pirate, Best Beard, Putt-Putt tournament, Miss Shrimp Festival pageant, and my personal favorite, the only one I possibly have a fighting chance to win – the ice cream eating contest.
Plan for lots of people, lots of fun, lots of fun and wear comfortable walking shoes.
Click here for a downloadable schedule.
For more information and the complete schedule, visit www.shrimpfestival.com
