Come Hungry, Stay for the Music: 44th Annual Poquoson Seafood Festival Opens Friday, Free Concerts and 150 Artisans

Three-day celebration of the Chesapeake Bay runs Oct. 16-18 at Poquoson Municipal Park

POQUOSON, VA, UNITED STATES, October 15, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The 44th annual Poquoson Seafood Festival opens Friday at Poquoson Municipal Park with three days of fresh Chesapeake Bay seafood, free concerts on two stages, a juried arts and crafts show featuring 150 artisans along lighted, wooded trails and a full lineup of children’s entertainment.

Presented by the city of Poquoson, the festival runs from 4 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16; 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17; and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18. For more than four decades, the event has celebrated the bounty of the Chesapeake Bay and the working watermen who harvest it.

“For 44 festivals, the Poquoson Seafood Festival has been where our community comes together to celebrate the Chesapeake Bay and the working watermen who have shaped who we are,” said Gretchen Gochenour, director of parks and recreation and festival director for the city of Poquoson. “Whether you come for the crab cakes, the music, the artisans or the memories, there is truly no better way to spend a fall weekend in Virginia. We can’t wait to welcome everyone home to Poquoson.”

The festival’s Dockside Food Court serves seafood soups; fried, broiled and steamed shrimp; crab cakes; flounder; scallops; shrimp and oyster po’ boys; fried clam strips; and corn on the cob. Barbecue, chicken, gourmet burgers, desserts and a kid’s combo are also available, and table and chair seating is provided.

More than 20 food vendors will serve guests throughout the weekend, including Capt. Harrell & Son’s Seafood Kitchen, Graham & Rollins Seafood & Hampton Seafood Market, and Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls. Sweets and refreshments come from Bean’s Ice Cream, Maddy May’s Lemonade and Grazing, We Are Nuts and Wild Bill’s Olde Fashion Soda. The Poquoson Kiwanis, Poquoson Lions Club, Poquoson Exchange Club and American Legion Holloway-Moore Post 273 will also serve food.

All concerts are free, and guests are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets. The Tidewater Drive Band opens the weekend from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday on the Bluewater Building Company & Aaron K. Holmes Realtor Municipal Stage, mixing rhythm and blues, ’60s soul, ’70s funk, country, classic rock and current Top 40 hits.

The Nashville Nights Band, billed as the nation’s premier tribute to ’90s country, performs from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday with the music of Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn and more. The Deloreans, a Hampton Roads ’80s band, close the festival at 2 p.m. Sunday.

Local performers on the Municipal Stage include the Poquoson High School Band, the Poquoson Islanderettes, the Poquoson Dance Academy, the PHS Evolution Show Choir and The Request Station Band. Cindy Norge will lead line dancing, inviting guests to “come boot, scoot, n’ boogie!”

The Dockside Food Court Stage features The Music of Mike Reed, The Second Wind Band, Isaac & Winston Duo, Hunter Owens, Bru Houndz, Dave Crumpler & the VA Shellphish Coalition, The Bill Miles Band, Thru w/ Therapy Band and Troy Breslow Acoustic.

The juried Arts and Crafts Show, produced by the Poquoson Art League, brings 150 regional and local artisans and crafters to the festival’s lighted, wooded trails. Their handmade work includes jewelry, soaps, paintings, sculpture, photography, coastal décor, decoys and one-of-a-kind gifts. The Poquoson Art League Arts & Crafts Awards will be presented at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

This year’s official festival design, “Memories of Him,” was painted by award-winning artist Alice Nell Firth in memory of her late husband, Nelson Firth. The painting depicts familiar items from a waterman’s long day on the Chesapeake Bay: a crab basket, a buoy and the well-known “Bubba boots.” For Firth, and for many Poquoson families, those objects carry treasured memories.

A Poquoson native, Firth has exhibited at the festival since 1984. She has won both Best in Show and the Mayor’s Purchase Award, has chaired the festival’s arts and crafts section for the Poquoson Art League and now serves as the league’s president. She began painting in watercolor and later came to prefer acrylics, which she often applies to unusual surfaces such as bushel-basket lids and furniture. Official festival wear and prints featuring the design will be sold at the festival.

“This year’s design, ‘Memories of Him,’ captures that spirit perfectly,” Gochenour said of the festival’s celebration of local watermen.
Families can visit the Children’s Stage for performances by the Vertical Kids Puppet and Magic Show, Lolli Bubbles, the “Mad Science” Science Show, The Magic of John Kingry and The Merman Illusion Show. A petting zoo will be open on the Municipal Field on Saturday and Sunday, and Jack’s Jungle Reptile and Science Exhibit will be featured Friday.

Other children’s attractions include Cole Shows Amusements rides, Giant Building Blocks, the Bluewater Building Company & Aaron K. Holmes Children’s Playhouse Village, activities with the PHS Drama Club and Rainbow Puppets on the Municipal Stage.

The Sam Rust Seafood Working Watermen’s Heritage Area offers visitors a closer look at the people and traditions behind the bay’s seafood harvest. Exhibitors include the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and the Batten School, the Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research & Extension Center, the VA250th Mobile Museum, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners.
Local public safety agencies will also take part, including the Poquoson Police Department, the Poquoson Volunteer Fire Company, Poquoson CERT and the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office.

Festival sponsors include The Virginia Lottery, Bluewater Building Company, Aaron K. Holmes Realtor, Sports Marine, Shayer Auto Sales, Sam Rust Seafood Inc., Eure Inc., Taylor’s Do It Center, Virginia Media Daily Press, Cole Shows Amusements, Dodd RV, Hudson’s Wheelchair Rentals, Wild Bill’s Olde Fashion Soda, Poquoson Public Schools, Claytor Rollins Funeral Home, Peninsula Hardwood Mulch, Graham & Rollins Seafood, Hampton Seafood Market, C3: Communications Construction Corp., AngelaCostelloGroup, Gault Electric, MacBrand Foods Inc., Multi-Print Inc., Mike Tyndall’s Custom Decks & Privacy Fences, Poquoson Diner, Thomas S. Burcher – Attorney at Law, and Glen Parker Photography.

Organizers thank the Jack N. Forrest family, the family of Eleanor Patrick, Claytor Rollins Funeral Home, and the Gills family and Price Electric for the use of their property during the festival.

The 2027 Poquoson Seafood Festival is scheduled for Oct. 15-17, 2027. Businesses interested in sponsorship are encouraged to contact the festival. Schedules and participants are subject to change. More information is available at PoquosonSeafoodFestival.com.

About the Poquoson Seafood Festival

Presented by the city of Poquoson, the Poquoson Seafood Festival celebrates the bounty of the Chesapeake Bay and the working watermen who harvest it. Now in its 44th year, the festival brings together Chesapeake seafood, free live entertainment, a juried arts and crafts show produced by the Poquoson Art League, and family activities for one of Coastal Virginia’s favorite fall weekends. Learn more at PoquosonSeafoodFestival.com.
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Angela Costello
AngelaCostelloGroup