You don’t have to be a pesca-phile to think this is one of the best festivals of the year: 2013’s highlight reel certainly showcases a day spent celebrating some of the better aspects of Bay living. Half a dozen Smith Island Crab Skiff Racing Association members brought up boats from Southern Maryland and Virginia to race around a course stretching along the beach head, putting on some exciting races we could watch with a beer in hand while the kids played in the sand. The Capital Crab Soup Cook Off brought in 25 of the area’s most talented chefs and caterers for a public tasting of cream of crab, vegetable crab, and “alternative” crab soup recipes (Ports of Call Annapolis went home the declared winner, and they’ll be back this year to defend their title). More than 30 beers and bivalves were featured for the Beer and Oyster tasting, while close to 20 different food vendors had everything from crab dip grilled cheese sandwiches to flavored ice to keep us happy.
For the kids, the DNR is putting together multiple exhibits on some of the Bay’s most notorious inhabitants. At the Snakeheads and More Aquarium Exhibit, you’ll find invasive fish alongside largemouth bass, white perch, and other interesting species. At the Raptor’s Eye display you’ll find live birds of prey, and at the Annapolis Crab Derby you’ll be able to race, pick, and paint crabs to your heart’s content. And if all else fails to inspire the little ones, there is always the moon bounce and obstacle course, which are perennially the most popular attraction of the event with the 10 and under set.
New for 2014, the Extreme Volleyball Professional Beach Volley Ball Tour will hold its East Coast Championships on the beach at Sandy Point. Professional, amateur, co-ed, and junior volleyball players will compete for $4000 in prize money on ten courts throughout the two-day festival. In addition, the professional pogo stick performers Xpogo will be putting on a gravity-defying demonstration with high flying energy.
Our best advice for anyone attending the festival is to get there early. The volleyball tournaments start at 8 a.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday, and the Maryland Fishing Challenge Finale will be held on Saturday at 11 a.m. And, needless to say, once you get there, you won’t want to leave.
For more information, visit mdseafoodfestival.com.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014 - 13:38
While we are known to lament the end of summer, one of our favorite events helps us cope with the post-Labor Day blues: the Maryland Seafood Festival happens September 6 and 7 at Sandy Point State Park just outside Annapolis. The partnership between the Maryland Seafood Festival and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is an annual tradition that brings in some of the best seafood vendors, land and water demonstrations, and of course, the Maryland Fishing Challenge Finale to finish the summer off with a bang.
You don’t have to be a pesca-phile to think this is one of the best festivals of the year: 2013’s highlight reel certainly showcases a day spent celebrating some of the better aspects of Bay living. Half a dozen Smith Island Crab Skiff Racing Association members brought up boats from Southern Maryland and Virginia to race around a course stretching along the beach head, putting on some exciting races we could watch with a beer in hand while the kids played in the sand. The Capital Crab Soup Cook Off brought in 25 of the area’s most talented chefs and caterers for a public tasting of cream of crab, vegetable crab, and “alternative” crab soup recipes (Ports of Call Annapolis went home the declared winner, and they’ll be back this year to defend their title). More than 30 beers and bivalves were featured for the Beer and Oyster tasting, while close to 20 different food vendors had everything from crab dip grilled cheese sandwiches to flavored ice to keep us happy.
For the kids, the DNR is putting together multiple exhibits on some of the Bay’s most notorious inhabitants. At the Snakeheads and More Aquarium Exhibit, you’ll find invasive fish alongside largemouth bass, white perch, and other interesting species. At the Raptor’s Eye display you’ll find live birds of prey, and at the Annapolis Crab Derby you’ll be able to race, pick, and paint crabs to your heart’s content. And if all else fails to inspire the little ones, there is always the moon bounce and obstacle course, which are perennially the most popular attraction of the event with the 10 and under set.
New for 2014, the Extreme Volleyball Professional Beach Volley Ball Tour will hold its East Coast Championships on the beach at Sandy Point. Professional, amateur, co-ed, and junior volleyball players will compete for $4000 in prize money on ten courts throughout the two-day festival. In addition, the professional pogo stick performers Xpogo will be putting on a gravity-defying demonstration with high flying energy.
Our best advice for anyone attending the festival is to get there early. The volleyball tournaments start at 8 a.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday, and the Maryland Fishing Challenge Finale will be held on Saturday at 11 a.m. And, needless to say, once you get there, you won’t want to leave.
For more information, visit mdseafoodfestival.com.
You don’t have to be a pesca-phile to think this is one of the best festivals of the year: 2013’s highlight reel certainly showcases a day spent celebrating some of the better aspects of Bay living. Half a dozen Smith Island Crab Skiff Racing Association members brought up boats from Southern Maryland and Virginia to race around a course stretching along the beach head, putting on some exciting races we could watch with a beer in hand while the kids played in the sand. The Capital Crab Soup Cook Off brought in 25 of the area’s most talented chefs and caterers for a public tasting of cream of crab, vegetable crab, and “alternative” crab soup recipes (Ports of Call Annapolis went home the declared winner, and they’ll be back this year to defend their title). More than 30 beers and bivalves were featured for the Beer and Oyster tasting, while close to 20 different food vendors had everything from crab dip grilled cheese sandwiches to flavored ice to keep us happy.
For the kids, the DNR is putting together multiple exhibits on some of the Bay’s most notorious inhabitants. At the Snakeheads and More Aquarium Exhibit, you’ll find invasive fish alongside largemouth bass, white perch, and other interesting species. At the Raptor’s Eye display you’ll find live birds of prey, and at the Annapolis Crab Derby you’ll be able to race, pick, and paint crabs to your heart’s content. And if all else fails to inspire the little ones, there is always the moon bounce and obstacle course, which are perennially the most popular attraction of the event with the 10 and under set.
New for 2014, the Extreme Volleyball Professional Beach Volley Ball Tour will hold its East Coast Championships on the beach at Sandy Point. Professional, amateur, co-ed, and junior volleyball players will compete for $4000 in prize money on ten courts throughout the two-day festival. In addition, the professional pogo stick performers Xpogo will be putting on a gravity-defying demonstration with high flying energy.
Our best advice for anyone attending the festival is to get there early. The volleyball tournaments start at 8 a.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. Sunday, and the Maryland Fishing Challenge Finale will be held on Saturday at 11 a.m. And, needless to say, once you get there, you won’t want to leave.
For more information, visit mdseafoodfestival.com.