10/25/2026
Cedar Key Seafood Festival Brings Thousands to Island City
By Terry Witt
Freelance Journalist
Levy County Online News
Thousands of visitors crowded into Cedar Key this weekend for the 55th Annual Cedar Key Seafood Festival, an event celebrating more than a century-and-half of fishermen making their living off the Gulf of Mexico.
It’s also called the Gulf of America.
The weather was pure sunshine accompanied by a 23-mile-per hour northeast wind that’s nothing more than a gentle breeze for those who have lived on the island for any length of time.
One tent on 2nd Street was seen taking flight on Sunday when a stiff gust of wind flattened it and threatened to take the remainder of the flimsy plastic structure down the street.
The tide was out during the festival and the resulting low tide and northeast wind pushed the water farther off the beach than normal allowing visitors to literally walk into the Gulf of Mexico without getting their feet wet.
Vendors along 2nd Street were selling everything from candy to purses and t-shirts but one regular artist at the festival, Keith Martin Johns, who hails from Chiefland, was selling fine art.
Johns is an accomplished painter and instructor. He describes himself as painting the culture, heritage and natural beauty of the south. He will be hosting an Open House at Long Pond Baptist Church near Chiefland on Dec. 5 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
His paintings of landscapes, historic settings and wildlife are among the best in the nation.
Another vendor, Cedar Key resident Parks Wilson, was selling homegrown wildflower honey from his tent. He said he owns friendly Florida honey bees but they can be a little grouchy at this time of year.
“This is their cranky time. There’s not much food and they are going into deprivation,” Wilson said.
When the winter solstice arrives on Dec. 21, and the days start to lengthen, he said the queen will recognize the change of seasons and begin producing lots of eggs.
He said honey bees have to be tended to all the time to remain healthy.
Not everyone was selling seafood, art, or honey at the festival.
School Superintendent Tammy Boyle was helping the Cedar Key Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) sell hamburgers, cheeseburgers and hotdogs. The sales were brisk. She said the crowd was much larger on the first day of the festival Saturday. The crowd on Sunday was also large.
The Cedar Key FFA was selling traditional Cedar Key mullet dinners. Adults and young people in the tent were staying busy.
Cedar Key looks much the same as it always has except that many businesses are building back after the hurricanes of 2023 and 2024 on tall pillars that will keep them out of the storm surge.
Island Place, a condominium complex, which is now about 20 feet off the ground, got hit hard by Hurricanes Helene and Milton in 2024. The storm surge will flow beneath them in the future. The complex is now renting out vacation homes.
A small restaurant on Dock Street that was flattened by Helene has been built back like a beautiful fortress. It’s clear the owner doesn’t plan on rebuilding again.
The Island Hotel and Restaurant retains a timeless beauty. Locals say it has never been flooded because it stands on the same hill as the Hodges House, which doesn’t flood. The restaurant is considered to have excellent food.
Along Dock Street Sunday, people were hanging out on second story balconies enjoying the bars, shops and sunshine.
The Post Office and downtown Jiffy Stores are back in business on 2nd Street.
The Old Cedar Key City Hall has a for sale sign attached to it. The city has moved City Hall to the former Lions Club community building atop a tall hill on F Street and away from storm surges after Hurricane Helene gutted it.
One restaurant, 83 West & 29 north, the premier dining facility on Dock Street, wasn’t back in operation this weekend. It is being equipped with solid metal seawall along the base of the building to keep the storm surge out.
The Cedar Key Big Dock was operating, but some areas were off limits to the public until repairs can be done to the understructure by the county. There were few restrictions for visitors.
Cedar Key has a few nicks and bruises from the storms of the past few years, but it has largely recovered, though rebuilding continues.
Photo: Parks Wilson, a wildflower honey producer from Cedar Key, shows off his work.
