Cedar Key Sets the Table Again: Florida's Clam Capital Readies Its 54th Seafood Festival

Some good news from the Gulf side of Florida: the Cedar Key Seafood Festival is coming back for its 54th year on Saturday, October 17, and Sunday, October 18, 2026, as the local Levy County Citizen reported in late September. In a town of fewer than a thousand people, a tradition that has held together for more than five decades is about to fill the streets one more time — and admission is free.

What's happening

For two days in mid-October, this little island town does what it has done since the early 1970s. City Park fills with fresh local seafood — locally harvested oysters, farm-raised clams, shrimp, and other dishes prepared directly by local civic groups, nonprofits, and community cooks. More than 100 arts and crafts vendors set up along 2nd Street with handmade treasures, Floridiana, fine art, and coastal creations, and live music plays right by the waterfront in City Park. There's a parade, too — it assembles on G Street at 10 a.m. on October 17 for lineup and judging.

Per Florida Rambler's festival calendar, hours run 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., admission is free, and the whole thing is sponsored by the Cedar Key Lions Club. Regulars will tell you not to miss Tony's world-famous clam chowder.

Why it matters

Plenty of festivals are fun. Fewer actually hold a town together. In Cedar Key, the food booths aren't run by catering companies — seafood festival booths are staffed by members of the Cedar Keys community, and every dollar spent supports Cedar Key's clam and oyster fishermen and women, plus local nonprofits, schools, and churches. It's a genuinely local, volunteer-driven event rather than a corporate-run tourist attraction, which is part of what gives it its distinct small-town character. When you buy a basket of fried clams here, you know exactly where the money goes: back down the street.

A real piece of Old Florida

Cedar Key is the kind of place this brand exists for. It's a charming little town with fewer than 1,000 permanent residents — Florida's second-oldest town — about 60 miles west of Gainesville, and its out-of-the-way location has helped keep it authentic. The historic fishing village is one of the nation's premier sources of farm-raised clams, which is why the chowder is worth the drive.

The festival weekend also unlocks something you can't usually do: it's one of the only times you can tour historic Seahorse Key, three miles offshore, where a shuttle boat from downtown takes visitors to see the island and its lighthouse, built before the Civil War — the key is now part of Cedar Key National Wildlife Refuge. If you've been working through our Florida collection looking for places that still feel like the postcards, this is one of them.

If you go

Mark the third weekend of October, gas up, and take the long way through the Nature Coast. Get there early for the parade on Saturday, eat the chowder, buy something made by a person whose booth you can walk back to and thank. Browse the craft rows — past visitors have found boxes made from local cedar trees and other Floridiana with real local flavor. And if you want to look the part while you wander Dock Street, our Welcome to Florida Tee was made for exactly this kind of day.

Common questions

When and where is the 2026 Cedar Key Seafood Festival?

The festival runs Saturday, October 17, and Sunday, October 18, 2026, in downtown Cedar Key, with seafood served in the beachfront park and exhibit booths along restored Dock Street and downtown.

Does it cost anything to attend?

Admission is free — you pay only for what you eat and buy, and every dollar spent supports Cedar Key's clam and oyster fishermen and women, plus local nonprofits, schools, and churches.

What's one thing first-timers shouldn't miss?

Beyond the chowder, the boat ride: the festival is one of the only times you can tour historic Seahorse Key and its lighthouse, with a shuttle boat running from downtown.

Reported by Levy County Citizen (Chronicle Online). Details as published at the time of writing.