Sarasota Seafood & Music Festival returns this weekend

Organizers of last year’s inaugural Sarasota Seafood & Music Festival didn’t expect a successful event. The temperature was in the 40s, and a strong wind funneled down Main Street, threatening to blow the vendors’ tents away.

They figured the event would be a bust, but it was such a hit that the same group put on similar festivals in St. Petersburg, Venice and other locations.

“We didn’t expect anything like the kind of success we had,” said event organizer Bill Kinney. “We didn’t see that coming at all.”

Now it’s time for the second annual Sarasota Seafood & Music Festival. It’s Saturday and Sunday at Selby Five Points Park in downtown Sarasota. The weather should be a lot more pleasant, and the music and the seafood are just as good, so this year Kinney and his colleagues are ready for more great crowds.

The food comes from at least 16 vendors. If you lined them all up, Kinney said, that would make 1,000 feet of seafood. They’ll offer just about any kind of seafood you can imagine, from shrimp pizza to sushi, as well as some desserts and selections for anyone whose tastes lean toward land-based foods.

The music ranges from blues and rock to reggae, and features a lot of the Bradenton-Sarasota area’s best and best-known acts: Mike Tozier, the Greg Billings Band, Twinkle & Rock Soul Radio, Sarasota Steel Pan Band, Jah Movement, Kettle of Fish, David Smash Band and RJ Howson.

Details: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, Selby Five Points Park , 1 Central Ave., Sarasota. Free. 941-487-8061, srqseafoodfestival.com.

This story was originally published January 18, 2017 at 5:25 PM with the headline "Sarasota Seafood & Music Festival returns this weekend."