13th Annual Deering Estate Seafood Festival

While the Deering Seafood Festival gets bigger and better each year, this year was a milestone.

Tickets sold out a full day before the event and when people started buying memberships to circumvent the lack of tickets, the Deering Estate Foundation had to halt membership sales as well.

“This is well beyond our wildest dreams. With over 284 volunteers keeping us going all day, this was a real homerun,” said Executive Director Mary Pettit.

The event featured celebrity chef demonstrations all day long, where attendees could learn how to cook from the best local chefs around. Of course, there were amazing food vendors including Golden Rule Seafood (in their 12th year) and Sports Grill (a vendor for all 13 festivals). If you could dream of a seafood, it seemed to be cooking somewhere on the 444-acre campus.

The festival expanded the Lil’ Shrimp Discovery Kids Zone, where you could get up close and personal with South Florida wildlife and also learn about our environment, ecology, preservation and other earthy goodness.

The beer and spirits flowed and if that wasn’t enough, a traveling band called Bahamian Junkanoo Review parades around with stilt walkers and colorful music and costume. A main stage also provided great music throughout the day, culminating in a concert set by classic rock cover band, Mr. Nice Guy.

The revenue from the Deering Seafood Festival goes to the Deering Estate Foundation, which provides an amazing array of programs on the grounds throughout the year.

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