Cedar Key Fires Up the Chowder Pots Again: The Seafood Festival Returns October 17–18

Cedar Key, the little clamming island on Florida's Big Bend, has officially set the date for its favorite weekend of the year: the Cedar Key Seafood Festival returns Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18, 2026, as announced in the Chronicle's Levy County Citizen in late September. That's good news twice over — it's one of the oldest seafood festivals in Florida, celebrating 56 years in 2026, and every plate of food sold goes straight back into the community that cooked it.

What's happening on the island

If you've never been, Cedar Key is the kind of place where the whole town fits inside the festival. The event is organized and hosted by the Cedar Key Lions Club, and it brings together local food, handcrafted artisan goods, live music, and the true spirit of community. The menu is the headline: locally harvested oysters, farm-raised clams, shrimp, and other dishes prepared directly by local civic groups, nonprofits, and community cooks in City Park. Beyond the food, more than 100 arts and crafts vendors line 2nd Street with handmade treasures, Floridiana, and coastal creations, while live music plays by the waterfront in City Park. And yes, there's a parade — it assembles on G Street at 10 a.m. on October 17 for lineup and judging.

Every booth feeds the town

Here's the part that makes this festival different from the average fried-shrimp-and-funnel-cake affair. This is the only festival around with all nonprofit food booths — it serves as a major annual fundraiser for Cedar Key School, Cedar Key churches, and volunteer groups, so every bite supports Cedar Key. Florida Rambler, which updated its festival guide this month, puts it plainly: every dollar spent supports Cedar Key's clam and oyster fishermen and women, plus local nonprofits, schools, and churches. When the person ladling your chowder is raising money for the school down the street, the chowder tastes better. That's just science.

Clam country, through and through

The festival isn't a theme — it's a mirror. This historic fishing village is one of the nation's premier sources of farm-raised clams, and the timing is no accident either: the festival comes just as cooler weather arrives and stone crab season begins. Festival weekend also unlocks something you can't do most of the year. It's one of the only times you can tour historic Seahorse Key, three miles offshore — a shuttle boat from downtown takes visitors to see the island and its lighthouse, which was built before the Civil War. A seafood festival that doubles as your one shot at a pre-Civil War lighthouse is a very Old Florida kind of deal, and it's exactly the sort of place we had in mind when we built our Florida collection.

If you go

Plan loose and arrive hungry. Hours run 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., admission is free, and the seafood is served in the beachfront park with exhibit booths and activities along restored Dock Street and downtown. One local tip from the Rambler guide: don't miss Tony's world-famous clam chowder. The town is small and walkable, the oaks are shady, and nobody is in a hurry — which is the whole point. Wear something comfortable; we'd suggest the Welcome to Florida Tee, because a town like Cedar Key is the Florida that sign was always welcoming you to.

Common questions

When and where is the 2026 Cedar Key Seafood Festival?

The festival runs Saturday, October 17 and Sunday, October 18, 2026, centered on City Park and 2nd Street in downtown Cedar Key, with hours from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and free admission.

What makes this festival different from other seafood festivals?

It's the only festival around with all nonprofit food booths, serving as a major fundraiser for Cedar Key School, churches, and volunteer groups — the proceeds stay on the island.

Is there anything to do beyond eating?

Plenty. There are 100+ arts and crafts vendors, live waterfront music, and a Saturday-morning parade, plus rare shuttle-boat tours of Seahorse Key and its historic lighthouse.

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