Held in the heart of historic downtown Fernandina Beach on beautiful Amelia Island, Florida since 1964, the family friendly, free admission Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival began as Shrimp Boat Races. Today we offer delicious shrimp prepared every way imaginable by 25 food booths all staffed and run exclusively by local Nassau County non-profit groups as fund-raisers, all competing for Best Food Booth honors. A fully juried arts, crafts and antiques show on Saturday and Sunday features 300 artisans and is recognized by Sunshine Artist Magazine as one of the top 200 outdoor festivals in the United States. The festival also features 50+ antique dealers. The Kids Fun Zone offers 25+ kid friendly activities, booths, food & entertainment, and is open Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday. The Shrimp Festival also serves up live music and entertainment on the Riverfront Stage, The Shrimp Festival encompasses the 8-block length of Centre Street down to the intra-coastal waterway and one block on both sides and hosts over 125,000 visitors annually. The downtown merchants hold a Sidewalk Sale during the day on Friday prior before the official start of the Festival at 5:00 pm (only Riverfront Food Court, Stage and Kids Fun Zone are open on Friday evening). Pirates entertain the crowd during two “invasions”, one Friday night followed by fireworks and one on Saturday afternoon. Several contests are held, including the Miss Shrimp Festival Scholarship Pageant, Little Pirate and Adult Pirate Contests, Beard Contest and Shrimp Ice Cream Eating Contest. Sunday features the Blessing of the Fleet and the Best Decorated Shrimp Boat Contest and Water Parade. Outside events include the McArthur Family YMCA 5K Fun Run and the Shrimp Festival Putt-Putt Doubles Tournament. Public and private school artwork from students in all schools in Nassau County have a special 20’x90’ display area in the festival and also compete for awards. Park and ride, with shuttle bus transportation, is available to and from off-site parking staffed by charitable organizations for a tax deductible donation. Further information and maps can be found on the website www.shrimpfestival.com.
