Dan Samess, CEO the Marathon Chamber of Commerce, joined Good Morning Keys on KeysTalk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about upcoming events.
Next weekend is the 49th annual original Marathon Seafood Festival on March 8 and 9.
Samess said, “Believe it or not, 1976 was the inaugural Marathon Seafood Fest, which kind of just happened out of a casual deal. It was local commercial fishermen wanted to kind of do up a little fish fry, lobster fry, for their colleagues, for their comrades, and the families that support all of them and they did it in what’s now the Publix parking lot, which, back then was Marathon Bank, I believe, one of Marathon’s first banks, and it just kind of blossomed and grew, and all of a sudden, friends of the families kind of started wanting to show up and get some fresh seafood and have a beer or two with their friends and neighbors. Then it grew some more, and it moved to the airport. Then the Marathon Chamber got involved, I believe, in the late 80s or early 90s and then once our beautiful new Marathon Community Park was built in 2007 we it moved over there, and so here we are, 49th annual, so it’s still just such a great event. A lot of locals talk about it as like the place to go, where you get to see all your friends and neighbors once a year. I mean, we all have our kind of cliques and core groups of friends, people we hang out with. So locals love going to the Seafood Fest because they really could see all those other friends and even some neighbors that they may not just get to see on a daily or weekly basis. So it’s kind of cool.”
Tom Thumb is one of the major sponsors.
Samess said, “Tom Thumb Food Stores and Valero, are our title sponsors this year. Tom Thumb has been the title sponsor in the past, and they are merging with Valero, which is really nice to see. So we’ve incorporated both brands as the title sponsor this year. So thank you to the good folks there and the services they provide. Fuel is kind of important, but so are the convenience stores and all that good Dion’s chicken. Also big shout out to you guys for everything that you all do for us, Michael, you and your wife and the team over at KeysTalk do so much for our community, including the Seafood Fest also Hot Wire Communications, one of our larger sponsors as well, who provide a lot of fiber Internet and resources to businesses and properties all up and down the Keys and South Florida. So thanks to them and the weekly newspapers, Overseas Media Group, the Free Press, Miami Herald, we got a lot of great sponsors, because it really takes a village. We have hundreds of volunteers, and we still do need some. So anyone who’s interested in being a volunteer for Marathon’s biggest event, call us up at the Marathon Chamber, 305-743-5417, nd ask to be a volunteer. It’s a four hour shift. You get a free festival t shirt, and you also get free admission the day you volunteer. So even if you finish your shift, want to go home, take a shower, jump in the pool, relax and come back at night for the evening festivities, you could come back and come in for free still. So we love our volunteers. We can’t do it without them, so we definitely need that.”
The festival runs 10 am to 9pm on Saturday and 11am to 5pm on Sunday.
Samess said there will be “over 200 vendors, and that includes, like, what I call kind of a small mini boat show. We’ll probably have anywhere from 10 to 20 boats on display and for sale. They typically sell one to two boats a year at the Seafood Fest. It’s a big, wide plethora of vendors, nautical items for your boats, for your fishing tackle, great retail, fishing gear and shirts, but also just nice retail, Keys clothes, jewelry, artwork, furniture as well. It really runs the gamut. So you could bop in and drop $10,000 or $20,000 if you really want to, if you’re a high roller, or you could bop in and drop 10, 30, 40 bucks, if you want to as well, and get a few cool things and kids rides too. So we really pride ourselves, like Marathon does, as being a family destination. So the Marathon Seafood Fest is kind of a microcosm of our destination. There’s tons of rides and games for kids. Kids are having fun. Mom and Dad are having fun and you see them all sitting down munching on some shrimp or oysters or fish tacos. It’s just really one of those festivals that is good Americana. It’s good for everyone. It’s good for the soul. It’s kid friendly. But even if just adults want to go with no kids, absolutely, we’ve got all kinds of adult drinks for you, margaritas and Bloody Marys and beer, craft beers, wine, mimosas, good seafood, live music, you could just hang out and make a day of it.”
John Bartus will also be performing live music.
Samess said, “John Bartus is not only a dear friend of mine, a long time friend, but such an integral part of the Marathon Seafood Festival. He really runs the stage, his equipment, all the back lines, the sound, making sure all our great bands are well taken care of and tuned up the way they want to be. Also big shout out to Lynn Brooks, who lives in Conch Key, just up the road, who’s kind of John’s right hand person, and one of the main entertainment procures also for us as well. So John and Lynn are just a great tandem that donate so much of their time and effort to a great cause.”
Plans for next year begin right pretty much after this Seafood Festival ends.
Samess said, “It’s really a year round endeavor, like any large event, just like Fantasy Fest, Nautical Flea Market, all those other really great, bigger, larger events. My team works really hard, Amanda and Eric at the Chamber and my board and everybody and the fishermen, of course, our partners. Parking is always a challenge anywhere in the Keys. So you can park at Stanley Switlik Elementary School as well. A lot of the teachers and kids help, and they raise a few bucks for field trips, a great cause. We definitely recommend take a taxi, the local taxis are great and very inexpensive. It’s a great, easy way to get to and from. We will have MCSO. Thank you to Sheriff Ramsey for always providing great safety for us, and Marathon Fire Rescue. They make it safe. They cone it off. So again, a true labor of love.”
For more information, click here: https://www.marathonseafoodfestival.com/