A Shell of a Time this Weekend

There will be a new park, a new stage, new music and new eating options but this weekend remains a celebration of all things scallop.

The 14^th annual Florida Scallop and Music Festival, formerly known as the St. Joseph’s Bay Scallop Festival, will kick off this Friday with plenty of fun and entertainment of young hearts of all ages.

This year’s festival features a full lineup of musical entertainment which will take the stage in Port St. Joe’s new Sand Hills Park adjacent to Marina Cove and behind First Baptist Church along the beautiful bayside waterfront.

The stage on which those acts will perform was built and donated specifically for the festival by Steve Newman and Bo Spring of Big Fish Construction.

There will be plenty of eating options, from Friday’s Patrons Dinner and winds up on Sunday.

The festival kicks off during the day on Friday as local vendors and artists showcase their best throughout the day throughout the downtown business district. That sale segues into …

Patrons Dinner

The Patrons Dinner is another new feature to the festival schedule and serves a celebratory kickoff to Southern cooking and style, not to mention seafood.

Hosted by Chef Jim Shirley at his WindMark Beach restaurant School of Fish the dinner features five courses for $45 per person, excluding tax and gratuity, and a cash bar.

The evening will begin with a reception at 6 p.m. EDT where guests can enjoy passed appetizers and meet all of the participating chefs. Dinner begins at 7 p.m.

Shirley will be joined by James Beard Award-winning Chef Louis Osteen of Watermark Restaurant, Miro District and The Blind Pig No. 55, all in Nashville; James Beard Award-winning Chef Martha Foose, author of Screen Doors and Sweet Tea; Chef Todd Richards of Rolling Bones Premium Pit BBQ in Atlanta; and Chef Jason Alley of Comfort Restaurant in Richmond, VA.

For more information and reservations for the Patrons Dinner, call School of Fish Restaurant at 229-1122. Guests must provide a credit card when placing a reservation to hold a seat for the event.

Scallop Sprint 5K Run and Fitness Walk

At 8 a.m. EDT on Saturday at The Green at Good Morning Street at WindMark Beach, the Scallop Sprint 5K Run and Fitness Walk will begin.

Race day registration begins at 7 a.m. and the first 100 to register will receive a free T-shirt.

Registration fee is $10 early and $15 on the day of the race, which will begin promptly at 8 a.m.

There will be $50 cash awards for the top overall male and female runners and additional awards for the top three spots in each age group.

Breakfast will be available after the awards ceremony at the School of Fish Restaurant.

For more information or to register early contact the Gulf County Chamber of Commerce at 800-239-9553 or 227-1223.

Make all checks payable to: Scallop Sprint Run/Walk, Gulf County Chamber of Commerce, 150 Capt. Fred’s Place, Port St. Joe 32456.

Music, Music, Music

The lineup of music over Saturday and Sunday is another new feature of this year’s festival.

The Bo Spring Band will start things at 12:30 p.m. on Saturday and he will be followed by Amanda Shaw and the Cute Guys Band at 2 p.m., Honey Island Swamp Band at 4:30 p.m. and Eric Lindell at 7:30 p.m.

Shaw, just 19 and a fiddler, has toured nationally since she was eight-years-old and the Honey Island Swamp Band was 2009’s Best Emerging Artist according to Offbeat Magazine out of New Orleans.

Lindell combines R&B, swamp pop, fun and blues into a gumbo that has brought popular acclaim across the country.

“Finding the Key” will open the entertainment on Sunday at noon and will be followed on stage by On Call featuring Hulon Crayton at 1 p.m., the Treme Brass Band at 2:30 p.m. and The Tams at 4:30 p.m.

The Tams formed in Atlanta in the early ’60s and got their start by performing in local night spots. Forty years later they are known for a variety of hits including “Be Young, Be Foolish, Be Happy.”

The Tams performed with Jimmy Buffet during his Beach House on the Moon tour and have also toured with Gladys Knight and Jackie Wilson.

Fun for Kids of All Ages

Beyond the music, the waterfront park will be jumping with a number of activities following the traditional opening ceremony.

There will be a Kids’ Zone with bouncy and slide, educational marine exhibits, a petting zoo and plenty of craft and food vendors coming from around the region and beyond.

And, of course, there will be folks on hand frying up those delectable mollusks that lend their name to the festival – scallops.

A weekend of fun with attractions from local businesses and concerts at an inexpensive price gives the Southeast an easy way to experience the best of the Port St. Joe area while supporting the economy and culture of Florida’s Gulf area.

For more information on the Florida Scallop & Music Festival, visit www.floridascallopfestival.com, follow the festival on Twitter at www.twitter.com/flascallopfest, or find the festival on Facebook at http://tinyurl.com/3anpjx8.