34th annual Cortez Fishing Festival 'with a mission' a weekend hit

CORTEZ -- The 34th annual Cortez Fishing Festival is underway in Cortez with plenty of savory seafood, live music, nautical art and other activities.

The event, which takes place 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, is described as a celebration of Florida's commercial fishing and maritime heritage.

"We're incredibly excited," said John Stevely, a festival organizing committee member. "This is our 34th year and we feel like the festival just keeps getting better and better organized."

The Cortez Fishing Festival is held next to the Florida Maritime Museum, 4415 119th St. W., Cortez.

Admission is $3, and children under 12 are admitted for free. Stevely said there is expanded parking for attendees.

"It's very, very important to us because this is really our fundraiser for the Florida Institute of Saltwater Heritage," Stevely said in reference to the nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving Florida's traditional Gulf Coast maritime communities. "The proceeds of the festival go toward the restoration of what we call the FISH preserve -- 95 acres of environmentally sensitive land just to the east of the festival. I often say in my talks that this is a festival with a mission."

According to former Manatee County Commissioner Jane Von Hahmann, who serves on the FISH Board alongside Stevely, the multiyear restoration effort first phase is complete.

"It's doing really, really well," the 62-year-old Cortez resident said of the land. "Tons of birds and tons of fish are coming into the waterways. We're really excited. ... the birds come in to feed almost every morning and evening."

Von Hahmann said this weekend's festival is the FISH's only fundraiser, but the organization's board has discussed organizing smaller fundraisers throughout the year.

"We have around 40 artists, we have entertainment all day Saturday and Sunday -- from bluegrass to country to rock and roll and the blues," she said. "We have 25 food vendors serving anything from any kind of seafood you can think of as well as Greek barbecue and hamburgers and hot dogs."

There will also be education talks by Stevely called "Dock Talks."

"We go down by the waterfront and explain about the different types of fishing boats and have displays of the different kinds of fishery resources that are harvested locally like grouper, mullet, stone crab and shrimp," Stevely said.

"We're able to talk to people on a one-on-one or small-group basis because this is a fishing village and that's an important aspect of the festival.

Information: Go to cortez-fish.org or call 941-254-4972.

Amaris Castillo, law enforcement/island reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7051. Follow her on Twitter @AmarisCastillo.

This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 11:12 PM with the headline "34th annual Cortez Fishing Festival 'with a mission' a weekend hit ."