Third Annual Stone Crab Festival to Feature Key Largo’s Best Catch
Event to feature cooking tents with tips on how to devise favorite Keys dishes

KEY LARGO, Florida Keys — Offering fine fresh local seafood, live musical entertainment, cooking demonstrations, contests and kids’ fun, the Key Largo Stone Crab & Seafood Festival is set for Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 28-29, at Rowell’s Marina, mile marker 104.5 Bayside.

Sponsored by the Key Largo Fisheries and Key Largo Merchants Association, the third annual event is to be a delicious weekend of family fun, food and fish from local waters. Attractions include arts and crafts, vendor booths, fireworks, a car show, performances by a steel drum band and live music by Nashville entertainers.

Among the highlights for kids are face painting, a magic show, a little mermaid contest, fishing workshops and the “return” of Black Caesar and his crew to give piratical demonstrations. Seafood booths are to serve delectable stone crab claws, homemade fish dip, conch fritters, chowders, tuna nachos and more. Landlubbers can select Jamaican jerked chicken, sausage or beef at burger and hot dog booths.

Attendees can visit cooking tents for tips on how to devise and devour favorite Keys dishes such as conch egg rolls, crab cakes, lobster and conch ceviche, grilled oysters and coconut mahi-mahi.

Back by popular demand are shrimp-eating and Key lime pie–eating contests.

Festival hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5 per adult and free for children age 12 and under. Pets and coolers are not allowed. Event proceeds benefit Florida Keys Youth Sports. Event website: www.fkrm.com/crabandseafood