For seafood lovers, there will be plenty to savor at the 16th annual Ohio Fish and Shrimp Festival, Sept. 15-17, at Freshwater Farms of Ohio, a mile north of Urbana on U.S. Route 68. The same goes for those who favor land-based cuisine.
Fourteen food vendors, including host Freshwater Farms of Ohio, will satisfy the appetites of festival guests with everything from trout that’s raised on the farm, to lobster tail, shrimp and crab, to corndogs, chicken strips and po’boys, to sugar waffles and cupcakes.
And while enjoying the food, guests will feast their ears on a wide range of music – country, rock, blues, reggae, Irish and jazz/R&B – performed by 11 bands on the festival’s outdoor stage.
The three-day festival also includes a play zone and free bounce houses for kids, a sturgeon petting zoo, fish and critter displays and other activities for the whole family.
Festival food vendors
Freshwater Farms’ main food booth will serve dinners that feature grilled trout, grilled whitefish, shrimp scampi, coconut crusted shrimp, crispy whitefish fillets, jambalaya and more. And the farm’s Seafood Express will offer fish and chips, jambalaya, fish sandwiches and more. Charlie’s Bar by Freshwater Farms will serve craft beers, wine and margaritas.
Big Bamboo Concessions – gator bites, crab cakes, oyster and shrimp po’boys, seafood platters, catfish, bucket-o-shrimp, fries, hush puppies and cole slaw
Shrimp Lips, LLC – jerk shrimp, crab legs, lobster tails, fried cheese shrimp, crawfish, buffalo or jerk chicken or shrimp, chicken strips, fries, desserts and drinks
Hot Diggity Doggers & More – fish po’boy sandwich, fish dinner, specialty hot dogs and brats, fresh cut fries, deep fried pierogies, and deep fried mac and cheese bites
Southern Sisters – funnel cakes, deep-fried Oreos, fries, nachos, fresh fruit smashers and corn dogs
Bite Me! Gourmet Corndogs — By the Sea Dog (cod), chili cheese corndog, bacon corndog, reuben corndog and more
The Ultimate Bistro — New Mexico hatch chili cheese burger, Pappa’s Hungarian Italian Sausage Dog, crawfish boudin, boudin balls, haystack, fried pickles, fried cheese curds, poutine and chicken sandwich
Kona Ice – flavored shaved ice
Crumpler Concessions – sugar waffles and elephant ears
A Taste of Nawln’s – bayou nachos, gator bites, red beans and rice, jambalaya, gumbo, gumbolaya, cajun tacos, seafood gumbo, shrimp and grits, colossal crab cake, Swamp Doggy, po’boys. Add-ons: crawfish, oysters, red fish, andouille sausage, jumbo gulf shrimp.
N&H Kettle Corn – kettle corn and flavored kettle corn
3DX Food Truck – Puerto Rican and soul food: fish and chips, shrimp, pastelillos, Angus dogs, mac and cheese, dirty rice, sausage and peppers and southern green beans
My Little Cupcakes – cupcakes, muffins, cake pops and brownies
Chicky Chicky Waffle – waffle-battered chicken tenders, waffle-battered shrimp, seasoned corn on the cob, watermelon, sweet tea and lemonade
Fresh shrimp for sale
Three vendors will sell freshly harvested shrimp on ice beginning at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 16. They include Don’s Prawns of Lancaster, Ohio, and Dan Moreland Farms Prawns of Butler, Ky., which will sell freshwater shrimp, and Ocean’s Friend Aquaculture of Gratiot, Ohio, which will sell saltwater shrimp.
Other vendors
A wide range of commercial vendors and nonprofit organizations will set up at the festival. Nonprofit organizations include:
Cedar Bog Nature Preserve – activities for children/families
Champaign County Habitat for Humanity – fund-raising drawing for Ohio State table and chair set
NAMI – mental health awareness
Project Teddy Bear & Friends
SAFY of Sidney – foster care and adoption opportunities
Walk Now for Autism Speaks/Austin’s Team
Dayton VA Medical Center – information on VA health care benefits and services
