- February 19, 2025
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Steven Gillison and Carlos Dravo tend to the Cajun broil.
Photo by Ian SwabyCarlos Dravo hands a dish to Jadyn Rodocker and her dog Otis
Photo by Ian SwabyMike Hepner plays with the Trey Wanvig Band.
Photo by Ian SwabyGlynn Coleman listens to the live music.
Photo by Ian SwabyGracie Bull, 4, whose family is visiting from Ohio and staying with her Siesta Key grandparents Cathy and Jeff Mart, enjoys a festival treat.
Photo by Ian SwabyA mixture of seafood sits over a bed of rice.
Photo by Ian SwabyRob Finan plays with 22N.
Photo by Ian SwabyMelissa Darusz, Drew Wolcott, Kosar and Thatch
Photo by Ian SwabyGarrett Springer prepares to serve a gryo.
Photo by Ian SwabyRené Bourdeau dances to the music of 22N.
Photo by Ian SwabySteven Gillison mixes a stew.
Photo by Ian SwabyHarper Lassiter, 10, and Jackson Lassiter, 8, play cornhole with their family.
Photo by Ian SwabyCooper Register, 2, a visitor from Port Charlotte, takes the cornhole beanbags straight to the goal.
Photo by Ian SwabyStacey Anderson of Sunken Hunter makes a sale to Juliana Jacobs, 6.
Photo by Ian SwabyLinda, Lisa and Lindsey Mullins
Photo by Ian SwabyLisa Mullins had just moved from Massachusetts to Sarasota, and was pleased with her first weekend out, which she spent at the Sarasota Bay Seafood & Music Festival.
“This is awesome…” she said. “This is like a last-minute thing, and it’s the best thing ever — all the music, the seafood, the people, it’s great.”
Mullins, who grew up in Venice, returns to the area after 35 years, and enjoyed the festival alongside her sister Linda Mullins, who lives locally, and her other sister Lindsey Mullins, who visited from Canada.
The festival, held Jan. 10-12, featured fresh seafood, from a cajun broil to a crispy grouper sandwich, live music by bands such as the Kara Nally Band, Kettle of Fish, Dirty Byrd and many others, and a vendor marketplace with crafts, jewelry and more.
Held at the Sarasota Fairgrounds for the first time, the event offered a larger space than it had in its former location of J.D. Hamel Park.
Mullins noting the weather wasn't too hot that Saturday, called the event “an awesome thing for the community."