The Destin Seafood Festival, one of Destin’s most celebrated traditions, is back after a 2 year hiatus and will be held October 7-9 on the Destin Harbor.

• The Destin Seafood Festival kicks off the Destin Fishing Rodeo that runs the entire month of October and is the primary fundraiser for the Destin Charter Boat Association.

Destin Mayor Gary Jarvis and Captain Jim Green, President of the Destin Charter Boat Association, met on the harbor this week to talk about the upcoming event in a video from the City of Destin. 

“It’s coming back!” said Jarvis. “We lost it one year due to COVID, and last year Mother Nature intervened and we had to cancel it.” 

“We have a great crew this year that’s helping us put it together, and it’s a big benefit,” said Green. “It’s our biggest fundraiser of the year.”

• The Destin Charter Boat Association is a non-profit organization whose primary function is advocacy for Fisheries Management. 
• The funds allow the association to be able to be a representative for the industry at the state and federal levels.

A new local culinary experience

New this year is the Call to Chef that brings local, wild-caught seafood back to the Festival. Call To Chef is a smaller, local seafood festival inside the larger Destin Seafood Festival featuring local chefs where attendees can sample local seafood and drink local beers.

• It is a ticketed event that spans over all three days, and each day is broken into various time slots for different food items. However, the main festival itself is still free to attend.

“It’s really a great idea,” said Green, who gives a lot of credit to the festival organizers for spearheading the event. “It’s creating a lot of buzz in town. One of our biggest complaints was that we didn’t have local seafood.”

With school back in session and restaurants losing a lot of their staff, it was really hard for local restaurants to commit to a 30-hour, three-day festival and still be able to run their business.

• Festival organizers developed an idea to make it just a three-hour block.  This sparked a lot of interest. 

“We’re really excited about having the cuisine from all around Destin and the area to be brought down here to the harbor for people to enjoy,” said Green.

Started in 1978 by the Destin Charter Boat Women’s Auxiliary, the Destin Seafood Festival was a way to generate business in October and bring people down to the dock. Green’s mother was one of its founders.

“There were a lot of local restaurants and home cooks that would come down and showcase their cuisine,” said Green. “It was really a great time on the harbor. It allowed for fellowship after the long summer, getting into the Destin Fishing Rodeo.”

The Destin Charter Boat Association took it over from the Destin Charter Boat Women’s Auxiliary and grew the event. The Destin Chamber of Commerce also ran the event for a period of time. In 2008, the Destin Charter Boat Association took it back over and brought it back down to the harbor.

“Being down on the harbor, it kind of just brought it back to its roots,” added Green. “When we did that, all the property hosts that we asked were very enthusiastic and helped us get it cranked back up down here.”

This year will be the 14th year the Destin Seafood Festival is held on the Destin Harbor. 

“I just want to encourage everybody to come down here, and go ahead and get the special VIP tickets so you can experience the Call To Chefs,” added Mayor Jarvis. “Enjoy the local, wild caught gulf seafood and support the Destin Charter Boat Association and the work they do to preserve the fishing heritage of this community.”

Admission to the Destin Seafood Festival is free.  

• Single-day and two-day tickets are available for purchase for the Call to Chef.Attendees will have the option to come and go each day as they please, sampling at their leisure. Tickets are very limited to this new event so don’t delay!

For more information and to purchase Call to Chef tickets, visit destinseafoodfest.com.