Lummus Park
October 21-24, 2015
South Florida has some of the best seafood in the country, and now there are yearly festivals dedicated to fresh seafood as only Floridians know how to make it. The South Beach Seafood Festival is in its third year now and will be held on the sands of South Beach between October 
21 and 24. The main festival will be held on Saturday, October 24 from 1 to 9 p.m., on the corner of 7th and Ocean in Miami Beach. The South Beach Seafood Festival is presented this year by Hess Wines and Coca-Cola.
The South Beach Seafood Festival is taking place during this specific time of year to mark the beginning of stone crab season in South Florida. There will be a number of events going on throughout the weekend, beginning with the Hess Select Wine Pairing Evening at Joe’s Stone Crab on Wednesday, October 21. The cost is $500 per person and attendees will dine with Brian Johnson, Joe’s Stone Crab manager, and Donald Hess, owner of the Hess Wine Collection, eating a five-course meal of 2015’s freshest stone crabs before anyone else will be allowed to partake! (The restaurant will still not be open to the public yet.)
On Thursday, October 22, at the Wine Theatre at the Miami-Dade Culinary Institute, the Institute’s “Cooking & Cocktails” series will begin with a seminar called “Teaching Tapas,” hosted by Fernando Desa, executive chef for Goya Foods, and sponsored by Stolichnaya Vodka. Create your own tapas courses and pair them with some of the best wines and spirits available. Tickets are $250 per person and can be purchased online at sobeseafoodfest.com.
Then, on Friday, October 23, at the Goya Culinary Pavilion, located at the corner of 9th and Ocean in Miami Beach, there will be a chef showdown, where some of Miami’s top executive chefs will face off, and you will be the judge of it all! In addition to the dishes that will be cooked for you by the chefs, there will also be an all-you-can-eat sustainable raw seafood bar, provided 
by Whole Foods Market, and a full open bar. Tickets are $120 per person and can be purchased online. Range Rover and Bacardi are sponsors of this event, as well as the aforementioned Whole Foods Market.
Finally, the centerpiece event will be held at Lummus Park (entrance on 7th and Ocean) in Miami Beach beginning at 1 p.m. on Saturday, October 24, and ending at 9 p.m. Fifteen restaurants from across Miami-Dade County (Joe’s Stone Crab, Smith & Wollensky, Red the Steakhouse, CIBO, Drunken Dragon, Tarpon Bend, City Hall the Restaurant, Poseidon, Naked Taco, Red Fish Grill, Oceanaire, Alter, CJ’s, Whole Foods Market, and A Fish Called Avalon) will serve over 50 different seafood appetizer and entree options, such as stone crabs, crab cakes, lobster tempura, lobster waffle cones, mahi sliders, oyster shooters, lobster macaroni and cheese, shrimp tacos, and more. Not only will there be food, but there will also be live entertainment located on the main stage, lounge parties, games, cooking demonstrations, shopping, and more. All tickets, from general admission to VIP, include full open bar for the entire day.
Tickets range from $35 per person (general admission) to $120 per person (all-access VIP pass). VIP ticketholders can access the Goya Culinary Pavilion in the Warren Henry Hospitality Village. The pavilion will feature a private DJ, live cooking demonstrations, interactive cocktail bars featuring Bacardi, Stoli and Herradura spirits, private access to Joe’s Stone Crabs and Smith & Wollensky restaurants, and much more. VIP ticketholders can also use a “fast pass” to jump to the front of any food line, and they also earn access to the Heineken Light Sports Bar area, where the Miami Hurricanes football game will be playing on multiple televisions. All tickets can be bought by going to sobeseafoodfest.com and clicking on “Buy Tickets.”
Sponsors of the third annual South Beach Seafood Festival include Hess Select Wines, Premier Beverage, Bacardi, Stolichnaya Vodka,Tequila Herradura, Coca-Cola, Goya, Land Rover North & South Dade, Heineken Light, and Whole Foods Market. For more information, please visit sobeseafoodfest.com. Follow them on social media @SobeSeafoodFest and tweet about your experiences using the hashtag #SobeSeafood!
