The Ruskin community is thrilled to have its annual Ruskin Seafood Festival back.
“The Ruskin Seafood Festival started in 1987,” said Melanie Davis, executive director of the SouthShore Chamber of Commerce. “The festival is in its 33rd year and we haven’t held the festival since COVID, so we are thrilled to have it back.”
The Ruskin Seafood Festival is the largest event in Southern Hillsborough County.
“This year, we wanted to focus the festival more locally,” Davis said. “In years past, we had some big-name entertainers, but this year we have local musicians, high school bands and a local barbershop quartet.”
Davis and her team are thrilled that so many local vendors have joined this year’s festival.
“We are almost full for vendors, but there is still room for a few more,” Davis said. “With the festival taking place at the beginning of December, it’s the perfect time for our guests to get a jump on their Christmas shopping. We have a large variety of craft vendors in addition to our food vendors.”
The Ruskin Seafood Festival takes place on Saturday and Sunday, December 2-3 at E.G. Simmons Park. It’s a great two-day, family-friendly event.
“This year, we have made our children’s play area more hands-on,” Davis said. “In years past, we had carnival-style rides that cost families extra money, so this year we have more interactive fun activities for the children.”
If you ask Davis what her favorite part of the Ruskin Seafood Festival is, she will tell you it’s the people who attend the festival.
“It’s great to see families having a great time and familiar faces from our community,” Davis said. “I love seeing guests who attended the festival with their parents when they were little, and now they have grown up and are coming to the festival with their children. The Ruskin Seafood Festival is truly a local community event.”
If you would like to learn more about the Ruskin Seafood Festival, you can visit its website at www.ruskinseafoodfest.org. E.G. Simmons Park is located at 2401 19th Ave. NW in Ruskin. The festival’s hours of operation are Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
