Poquoson Seafood Festival opens Friday with free concerts and 150 artisans

The 44th annual Poquoson Seafood Festival runs Oct. 16-18 at Poquoson Municipal Park with Chesapeake Bay seafood, free concerts on two stages and a juried arts and crafts show. The city-run event is a major fall draw for Coastal Virginia families, watermen and local vendors.

Why it matters: - The 44th annual Poquoson Seafood Festival brings three days of Chesapeake Bay food, music and family programming to Poquoson Municipal Park. - The event is a longstanding showcase for the bay’s seafood industry and the working watermen who harvest it. - Organizers expect a broad regional audience drawn by free concerts, children’s activities and a juried arts and crafts market.

What happened: - The city of Poquoson is presenting the festival Oct. 16-18, 2026, at Poquoson Municipal Park. - Festival hours are 4 to 9 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. - The event features seafood, live entertainment, a juried arts and crafts show and children’s attractions. - More information is available at Poquoson Seafood Festival.

The details: - The Dockside Food Court will serve seafood soups; fried, broiled and steamed shrimp; crab cakes; flounder; scallops; shrimp and oyster po’ boys; fried clam strips; and corn on the cob. - Additional food options include barbecue, chicken, gourmet burgers, desserts and a kid’s combo. - More than 20 food vendors are scheduled, including Capt. Harrell & Son’s Seafood Kitchen, Graham & Rollins Seafood & Hampton Seafood Market and Mason’s Famous Lobster Rolls. - Dessert and beverage vendors include Bean’s Ice Cream, Maddy May’s Lemonade and Grazing, We Are Nuts and Wild Bill’s Olde Fashion Soda. - Community groups serving food include the Poquoson Kiwanis, Poquoson Lions Club, Poquoson Exchange Club and American Legion Holloway-Moore Post 273. - All concerts are free, and guests are encouraged to bring chairs and blankets. - The Tidewater Drive Band opens Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. on the Bluewater Building Company & Aaron K. Holmes Realtor Municipal Stage. - The band’s set mixes rhythm and blues, ’60s soul, ’70s funk, country, classic rock and current Top 40 hits. - The Nashville Nights Band performs Saturday from 6 to 9 p.m. with tribute songs from Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn and other ’90s country acts. - The Deloreans, a Hampton Roads ’80s band, close the festival Sunday at 2 p.m. - 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 and invite guests to “come boot, scoot, n’ boogie!” - The Dockside Food Court Stage lineup includes 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, will feature 150 regional and local artisans along the festival’s lighted, wooded trails. - Handmade items include 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 Alice Nell Firth in memory of her late husband, Nelson Firth. - The artwork depicts a crab basket, a buoy and Bubba boots, objects tied to watermen’s lives on the Chesapeake Bay. - Official festival wear and prints featuring the design will be sold at the festival. - Firth has shown at the festival since 1984, has won Best in Show and the Mayor’s Purchase Award, chaired the arts and crafts section and now serves as Poquoson Art League president. - Children’s programming includes 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 Saturday and Sunday. - 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, PHS Drama Club activities and Rainbow Puppets on the Municipal Stage. - The Sam Rust Seafood Working Watermen’s Heritage Area will highlight 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 Virginia Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners. - Local public safety participants include the Poquoson Police Department, 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.

Between the lines: - The festival leans on a mix of food, music, arts and kid-friendly programming to turn a seafood celebration into a broader fall weekend event. - The emphasis on watermen heritage and local artisans reinforces the festival’s role as both a community gathering and a cultural showcase. - The design tribute and heritage exhibits suggest organizers are using the event to preserve local identity, not just sell tickets and food.

What's next: - Organizers say 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 remain subject to change.

The bottom line: - Poquoson is pitching its signature festival as a free-music, seafood-heavy, family-friendly weekend rooted in Chesapeake Bay tradition.