FISH AND SHRIMP FESTIVAL RETURNS TO URBANA
Event slated to run for 3 straight Saturdays, starting this weekend.
The Ohio Fish & Shrimp Festival will return to the Freshwater Farms of Ohio this weekend for a 19th year, after being canceled last year due to the pandemic.
The event will run for three consecutive Saturdays at 2624 N. U.S. 68 in Urbana. This is a different format from the usual festival schedule, as it usually runs through a weekend for three days in a row.
The festival will be open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day. Admission and parking are free.
The event kicks off Freshwater Farms’ “Seven Seafood Saturdays of Fall,” which also includes their October Halloween Bash, which runs four consecutive Saturdays, on Oct. 9, 16, 23 and 30.
All seven Saturdays will feature local food trucks, as well as seafood specialties from the kitchens of Freshwater Farms, along with craft beers, wine, margaritas and other beverages.
Arts and crafts vendors and local merchants will be at the festival, along with animal displays, including the sturgeon petting zoo, touch tanks, and pygmy goats. The Freshwater Farms of Ohio Farm Market will also be open.
A new wildflower maze and eco-farmed produce patches be will open to the public for the first time. Other activities will include a Pirate Treasure Sand Dig, ”John Darts” throwing game, and disc golf target game for all ages.
The festival will also have live music performed by various bands each week.
On Sept. 11, the Will Freed Band, featuring Columbus native Will Freed, will perform a mix of acoustic rock, soul and blues from 6 to 7:30 p.m., and Champaign County-based group Laredo Band from 8 to 10 p.m., playing country, southern rock, and more.
Sept. 18 will feature The Usual Suspects, a group with a four-piece horn section, from 6 to 7:30 p.m., followed by Locking Up Otis from 8 to 10 p.m., a trio band performing ’60s to ’80s tunes.
On Sept. 25, Seefari will perform from 6 to 7:30 p.m., featuring reggae and world music, and from 8 to 10 p.m. Big Gil’s Blues and His Funky All-stars will perform a set of blues, contemporary jazz, R&B and old school funk, with a touch of Motown.
Online reservations for festival food and drive-thru onsite ordering and pickup will also be available.
Reservations can be made prior to each festival day at fwfarms.com/ shop or by calling 937-652-3701.
For more information, visit https://fwfarms.com/.