Thousands enjoy seafood,sun, live music at 34th Cortez Fishing Festival

CORTEZ -- They came out to taste and savor the Gulf of Mexico's finest and freshest seafood.

The postcard weather, live music and shopping also seemed to please.

Thousands came out Saturday for the 34th annual Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival.

Stephanie Miley, 32, was smiling and dancing to the music of local favorite Eric Von with her 2-year-old son on her hip. For her like many, it's an annual tradition.

And it's the food and music, she said, that brings her out every year.

"So far so good," Miley said. "It's my first time having the fried strawberries, highly recommended."

Her 9-year-old son stood quietly by. Bashful, he shook his head even as his mother said he likes coming for the crab.

"The grouper is so good," Miley said. "That's what I'm having."

Near the stage, Tjet Martin was enjoying Eric Von's performance.

"He's our hometown boy," Martin said.

Martin said she's enjoyed the festival for 20 years, but missed it some years when it was too cold. That was not the case Saturday.

A mild front moving through the area brought no rain. Clear, blue skies encouraged temperatures up to 70 degrees with a mild, cool breeze.

Martin said this year was extra special because it also marked the opening of the Cortez Historical Society's Cultural Center. The building was known as the Monroe Cottage when it was on Anna Maria Island.

"I've been waiting, waiting for it to open," Martin said. "We use to have meetings in it. To see it today, brought tears to my eyes."

The festival is the primary fundraiser for the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage, a nonprofit dedicated to the preservation of Cortez Fishing Village.

A popular part of the festival this year was the Dock Talks by FISH, which draws bigger crowds some years more than others.

People of all ages were asking questions about local fishing.

"People come back here and they seem to really enjoy it," said John Stevely with FISH. "We get to tell them all about Cortez, the FISH preserve and the local fishing."

One of the most common questions: "What's the best fish to eat?"

"We get a lot of questions about if the snow crabs and if they regrow their claws," he said.

Angela Collins, a Florida Sea Grant agent, also helped answer questions with her vast knowledge of fish. A couple dozen varieties of fish were iced and marked prompting questions about the best places to catch them.

"They want to know what these fish are," Collins said pointing to the fish on ice. "They want to know which ones are on their menus."

When asked her favorite to eat, Collins smiled and insisted she couldn't pick just one. So she named several including hogfish, mangrove snapper and trigger fish.

One little boy, pointing at one of her displays, asked what bones were in the fish.

With patience and enthusiasm, Collins explained how the otoliths (three small, oval bodies in the inner ear involved in sensing gravity and movement) are removed from a fish head to determine its age. It is then sawed down the middle. She showed the boy how you can saw them like a tree and count its rings using a microscope.

Tammy Sansky, 57, smiled as she held her "rum nut" while admiring arts and crafts vendors.

"I like walking around the crafts. To see the talent of some of these people is unbelievable," Sansky said.

Recently having moved to Spring Hill this past year, she said it was her first time at the Cortez festival.

"This is absolutely gorgeous," Sansky said. "The weather is nice and the food is great."

The festival continues from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday in the Cortez Fishing Village. Admission is $3 for adults and free for children under 12.

Information: 941-254-4972, cortez-fish.com.

Jessica De Leon, Herald law enforcement reporter, can be reached at 941-745-7049. You can follow her on Twitter @JDeLeon1012.

This story was originally published February 13, 2016 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Thousands enjoy seafood,sun, live music at 34th Cortez Fishing Festival ."