RUSKIN - Inspired by the abundance of area seafood, the local chamber pulled together vendors to provide food and fun for local families in 1988.
Christened as "The Seafood Festival," the chamber members and community leaders staged the event at what was then known as the Bahia Beach Resort off Shell Point Road. Several booths offered a variety of seafood dishes featuring shrimp, crab, and assorted fish concoctions while 25 exhibitors demonstrated marine crafts such as net throwing, fish filleting, sponge fishing and commercial fishing techniques.
Some music and games were thrown in to give the event an atmosphere of family fun.
Now the Ruskin Seafood Festival, set for Saturday (Nov. 3) and Sunday (Nov. 4), continues to build on the roots of that first event 30 years later. With 30,000 expected to attend, it stands as one of the SouthShore's biggest events and draws patrons from around Tampa Bay. The two-day feast, guided by the SouthShore Chamber of Commerce, also will include live music, a kids play area and a decided emphasis on extending the food choices to healthier items.
Over the years, the festival has evolved and expanded to reach its current lofty status. In 1990, the number of exhibitors increased from 30 to 130. Another part of its evolution included performances by the Cypress Garden Ski Team in 1992.
In 1994, the chamber made the decision to move the popular community festival to November to avoid late summer rains and allow winter residents to participate.
Another big move for the Festival occurred in 1997 when the resort at Bahia Beach could no longer play host to the event. Renovations and the installation of an irrigation system prompted the change. So the Festival packed up their fish and moved to its present location at E.G. Simmons Park in Ruskin.
Fortunately, the parks department waived the county ordinance against serving alcohol, so beer and wine could still be a part of the traditional fare. That year saw an estimated 25,000 attendees.
This year finds the chamber striving to improve every aspect of the event.
"Since it's the 30th year, we looked at the feedback we get most often," said chamber executive director Melanie Rimes said. "These comments usually center around the food choices. People would like to see more of a variety and not just the same fried stuff all the time. So we replaced two of our vendors with some really unique and a wider variety of food like crawfish etouffe and lobster rolls ... just to give everybody more options."
The chamber also reduced costs for the Kids Area, making most of the activities free.
"We've scaled back tremendously on the cost of the Kids Area," Rimes said. "Everything will be free except for just two activities. It will still be the same great games as last year so we're not pulling out the cool stuff. We're just footing the bill ourselves this time."
Rimes is excited about the new and exciting activities that include the Bubble Master, Blaise Ryndes, and Panama Pearl's Pirate World features a pirate ship that kids can climb all over.
There also are magic shows, balloon art, facepainting, an obstacle course and inflatable playhouses. The only events that require payment are the mechanical shark and the hamster balls.
The festival also will feature a variety of music acts ranging from reggae, oldies and country to yacht rock and steel drums. Crafters, nonprofits and vendors also will attend.
Last but certainly not least, the whole reason for this affair: food. Vendors include Mobstah Lobstah, Bearcakes, Laughing Crab, JB's Sweet Addiction, Stanford's Jerky, Ol Kentucky Kettlecorn, Hammerheads, Poppin Don's Old Fashioned Ice Cream, and Kona Ice.
Rimes says the festival will be a good opportunity for people to reflect on the SouthShore's good fortunes.
"So many areas in our state have been hit with disasters this year," Rimes said. "We haven't been impacted by a hurricane or threatened by Red Tide.
"This is just a great way to get out and enjoy the place that you live, the place that you love, and the things around you that you sometimes take for granted."
Contact Kathy Straub at hillsnews@tampabay.com.