The Return of the Great Ogeechee Seafood Festival

Food has a way of bringing people together. Throw in some of the best seafood in the area, live music, plus The Midway Carnival, and you’ve got the Great Ogeechee Seafood Festival.

After having to cancel the festival last year due to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Matthew, 2016 committee co-chair Tim Proffitt told The Savannah Morning News that, “we’re already looking ahead to next year for the biggest and best ever festival.” The weekend long event will take place October 20 – 22 in J. F. Gregory Park, near the heart of Richmond Hill.

What began as a small community fair in the 80s has evolved into Richmond Hill’s premier event, routinely attracting 35,000 attendees. After having to cancel the festival last year due to the devastation wrought by Hurricane Matthew, 2016 committee co-chair Tim Proffitt told The Savannah Morning News that, “we’re already looking ahead to next year for the biggest and best ever festival.”

True to their word, this year’s festival will have over 50 arts and crafts booths, selling hand-crafted, one-of-a-kind items, as well as showcasing local businesses. You never know what you’ll find, so plan on spending some time wandering through the booths. You may even be able get some early Christmas shopping done!

All that shopping is bound to make you hungry, but what to eat!? With so many delicious options, it will be tough to choose: low country boil, shrimp and grits, fried oysters, crab cakes, lobster rolls, crab soup, shrimp gumbo, and more! You’ll also find Cajun fried catfish, gyros, bourbon chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, and plenty of sweet tea. If you’ve got any room left, make sure you get some of the kettle corn and peach cobbler cooked by the Boy Scouts.

By now the smell of funnel cake will be wafting through the air, leading you back toward the carnival rides. You’ll find rides right out of an old-fashioned country fair: Tilt-A-Whirl, Tea Time, Grand Carousel, Zumer Swings, Matterhorn, and more.

To top it all off, the weekend will feature performances from both local and national musical acts, including Kelly & Co. Dance Studios, Justin Dukes, and Line Dance Fever. Saturday’s performances will be headlined by .38 Special, a Southern Rock band out of Jacksonville, Florida, followed by a firework display to close out the night. 

Even more impressive than the extensive line-up of food, music, and family fun that showcases why Richmond Hill is such a great place to live, is the fact that the festival is almost exclusively managed and executed by approximately 300 volunteers. This dedicated and hardworking group give hundreds of hours of their time to planning the festival over the course of a year, and make it the amazing event that it is.

With so much to do, see, and eat, we’re sure you’ll enjoy the Great Ogeechee Seafood Festival as much as we do.