Shrimp Festival
2027 Shrimp Festival Dates: April 30 to May 2
The first Shrimp Festival was held in 1964 to celebrate the traditional blessing of the shrimping fleet which was once a major industry on beautiful, historic Amelia Island. This annual festival is held on the first weekend of May and features fine art and crafts, antiques, food, open air entertainment and special events. Annually, over 100,000 visitors are expected during the 3-day event.
The Fine Art and Crafts portion of this show is administered by the Island Art Association, Inc., (IAA) in conjunction with the Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival Committee. The IAA was established in 1972, as a volunteer, non-profit organization whose mission is to support the arts and artists in Nassau County. In addition to sponsoring this annual Arts and Crafts show, we provide local artists with opportunities to display and sell their work at our gallery and offer programs and classes in our Art Education Center. The Gallery and Education Center are located at 18 North Second Street in the charming historic district of Fernandina Beach.
This show is an annual juried event consistently rated by “Sunshine Artist Magazine” in the top 200 of North America’s best events and provides an excellent atmosphere to exhibit and sell your work.
For more information and to apply for the Fine Art and Craft portion of the 2027 Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival go to ZAPPlication at:
(https://www.zapplication.org/event-info.php?ID=13536)
Applications will open October 1, 2026 and end January 31, 2027.
For General Information on the festival including applications for food vendors, antique dealers, maps on other venues/activities visit the Shrimp Festival Committee website. https://www.shrimpfestival.com/
Shrimp Festival Volunteer Opportunities
The IAA is an all-volunteer organization that depends on community members to help make the arts festival successful. Some of the volunteer opportunities we have include:
Artist Check
This mostly occurs on Friday late afternoon and evening:
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volunteers provide help with information packets and needs at the check in desk in the IAA Education center
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Volunteers are stationed on the streets to help direct artists to booth locations
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other roles as needed in the show set up. This mostly occurs on Friday afternoon and evening
Parking - volunteers assist in manning the IAA lot during artist check in on Friday, and for IAA permit holders during the festival
Reception – volunteers help set up, tear down, and provide hospitality during the Awards Reception that occurs on Saturday evening
Booth Sitting – provide relief break for artists by manning their booths when they need to be away for a few minutes. This is mainly during festival hours on Saturday and Sunday
End of Festival – assist in directing artists in the exit plan as the festival clears the streets
To volunteer use the form below that will be forwarded to our Shrimp Festival volunteer coordinator who will contact you.
Gallery
