September in Pensacola. The weather is starting to get cooler although it still can get into the 80's and stay humid during the peak hours of the day, but nights are nice and cool and you need a to put a blanket over you when you go to bed at night.
An unexpected weekend off from work for me had Mom and I jonesing for adventure in our new home in Pensacola, and Wednesday's Pensacola Journal had our plans in black and white: The 31st Annual Pensacola Seafood Festival, an annual fair complete with arts and crafts booths and local craftspeople hawking their wares and food booths selling everything from frozen lemonade to, of course seafood.
Mom and I got a 10:30 start from our home in Pensacola to get to the Seafood Festival. The weather was starting to warm up by mid-morning, and it was bright and sunny outside. A perfect day to enjoy the festival. Upon arriving near the Seafood Festival, Mom and I knew parking was going to be a pain in the butt, and we began looking for a parking place off of Seville Square but not so far away, we would be too exhausted to enjoy the festival. After losing one spot on Zaragossa Street when I had to turn around another road to get to the spot, Mom and I parked the car on Garden Street near Jefferson Street and walked into Seville Square via the historic Seville Quarter.
The Pensacola Seafood Festival has been entertaining locals since 1977, and this year was one of the bigger festivals with hundreds of food and arts and crafts vendors in the park that is part of Seville Square. Mom and I entered the park via the Pensacola Historical District that I had the honor of touring last year when I visited Pensacola. The Old Baptist Church and several Victorian homes made a great backdrop for the festival. Mom and I began our time at the the Festival by checking out the arts and crafts booths. There were many great food and arts and crafts being sold, and Mom and I took our time looking at several points of interest including windchimes, signs, jewelry, jams and other preserves, and other gourmet delicacies. At one food booth, Mom bought a key lime pie mix for one of our future desserts. I spent time in this booth sampling the many dip mixes they had on display before Mom and I headed to the food court on the other side of Seville Square.
Once getting to the food court, I noticed that the Fiesta Seafood Grille was going to start its first cooking demonstration, and the benches in front of the stage were filling up quickly. Mom grabbed a fried shrimp platter from one of the food vendors, and we shared the platter while waiting for the demonstration to begin.
The first demonstration was by Jim Shirley, the chef at The Fish House in downtown Pensacola. Mr. Shirley created some really great fish dishes including Shrimp and Alabama Goat Tree Grits and pan-fried Grouper Daniels, which was served on top of a wedge of corn bread baked in a cast iron pan with this heavenly looking Gouda cheese sauce. The hostess of the Seafood Grille then asked the audience if we had a cast-iron pan in our home, and most of us raised our hands, and I whispered to Mom, "If they only knew that our cast-iron pans were stolen from campers in our neighborhood by our dogs Nicholas and the immortal Loki when we lived in Idaho, and they were allowed to roam free!" To this day, Mom and I still scratch our heads wondering how they dragged the heavy pans home!
But it was a bummer that only a select few could try the finished product. In order to do so, one had to buy the 2007 ($2) or 2008 ($3) Fiesta Seafood Grille Cookbook that came with a raffle ticket. After each demonstration by Chef Shirley, a drawing was held for four lucky people to go up to the table near the stage to enjoy the great food prepared. Unfortunately, I will have to wait until I get to visit The Fish House someday to try the great food there or cook it myself since I have the recipes. But the Shrimp and Grits and Grouper Daniels did look scrumptious when the hostess showed it to the audience.
After Chef Shirley's demonstration, Mom and I wandered around the Festival one more time to check out everything, and Mom bought some blueberry jam from one of the food vendors, and we checked out some of the old homes around Seville Square before heading back to our car parked on Garden Street. The whole time Mom and I spent at the festival was just a couple of hours, but we had a nice time checking out the Seafood Festival and soaking in the history of Pensacola in the process. I told Mom we will have to visit Historical Pensacola when it isn't as crowded to get the full effect of the place.
The Pensacola Seafood Festival happens at the end of September every year. Admission is free along with parking (except in some parking lots near Seville Square, but avoid them). Be prepared to spend a couple of hours or more at the Festival and enjoy the fun, food, and music there. The Festival starts at 10 p.m. on Friday, September 26, from Noon-10; 10-10 on Saturday, September 27, and 11-5 on Sunday, September 28.
To get to Seville Square, Pensacola, get onto Palafox Street towards downtown Pensacola for about 4 miles and take a left onto Main Street. The square is right there, and takes up a good chunk of city real estate. Now that the cooler weather is here, there will be more festivals for the rest of the year for all to enjoy.