This year’s Ruskin Seafood and Arts Festival is even more important to the community, said Melanie Davis, Greater SouthShore Chamber of Commerce executive director.
“It would have been really easy and justified to cancel the festival. … Our whole community kind of has this cloud over them,” Davis said. “I really think that keeping it will help raise the spirits, raise the morale in the community, just to rally together and have fun.”
The 34th annual event comes in the wake of a pair of hurricanes that battered the community, ruining the chamber’s office and leaving it ‘homeless’ while planning events for the community remotely for the rest of the year.
The aftermath of Hurricane Milton forced the chamber to cancel its annual Veterans Day parade. But Davis said the chamber still wanted to celebrate its veterans at the Seafood and Arts Festival.
“We’re doing a huge tribute to veterans,” Davis said.
Some of those who were going to be in the parade will get to participate in a mini parade during the festival ahead of the opening ceremonies.
“We’re kind of shifting,” she said. “We’re still working on the planning of it, but it will be a really nice, heartfelt tribute. It will definitely stand out as its own little piece of the festival.”
This year’s festival will be free to help those dealing with the aftermath of the hurricane. While Davis said she could have still charged the entrance fee and donated it to relief efforts, she felt like a free festival will allow people to get a break from hurricane recovery.
Davis encouraged those that can spend money to give it to local vendors that will be at the festival. There will also be food for guests that do not like seafood, as well as live music and entertainment. There will also be a car show and homemade arts and crafts.
The 34th annual Ruskin Seafood and Art Festival will be held at E.G. Simmons Regional Park on Saturday, November 16, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, November 17, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
For more information on the festival, visit https://ruskinseafoodfest.org/ or contact Davis at melanie@southshorechamberofcommerce.org.
