As many as 25,000 seafood and music lovers will gather at Point Cadet Plaza this weekend for the Biloxi Chamber of Commerce’s 35th Annual Biloxi Seafood Festival.
This year’s festival, which opens Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m., will again feature myriad seafood dishes, live entertainment, and nearly a hundred arts and crafts vendors. Country, rock, zydeco, and contemporary music will be offered.
Departure, The Journey Tribute Band will headline this year’s festival, with a performance that begins at 6 p.m. on Saturday, and on Sunday afternoon you’ll find the Sun Herald Gumbo Championship.  Professionals and amateurs will compete in a special, fenced-off area of the Biloxi Seafood Festival, where the public can pay one price for unlimited samples of the multiple variations of gumbo. Winners will receive awards, recognition in The Sun Herald, and, of course, braggin’ rights.
Admission to the festival is adults, $5 before 4 p.m. Saturday ($10 after 4 p.m.) and $5 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Point Cadet Plaza is at 121 Cadet St.
See the festival schedule of entertainment
Elsewhere this weekend: Keith Sweat, a somber Beauvoir moment
The Biloxi Seafood Festival, while a hugely successful event each year, is not the only attraction this weekend: Soul musician Keith Sweat performs at the IP Casino while hipsters B.J. Thomas and Gary Puckett entertain at the Golden Nugget. Over at the Beauvoir: The Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library, the three-day 9-11 Memorial Festival – Stop the Violence will take place daily on the lawn.
See the weekend entertainment listings
Seafood Museum drawdown is Sept. 17
The Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum holds its Annual $10,000 Drawdown on Saturday, Sept. 17.
The affair, the museum’s major fundraiser of the year, will be at the museum, 115 First St., and begins with cocktails and entertainment by Hank Berumen at 6 p.m., followed by a buffet style dinner at 7 p.m., and drawings beginning at 8 p.m. Door prizes will be awarded throughout the night.
Tickets, at $100 and admitting two to the drawdown, are being sold along the Coast by members of the museum and at the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum. A silent auction will also be featured.
For more information, call the Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum at 228-435-6320.
Keesler volunteers assist city with U.S. 90 efforts
“You just can’t say enough about these young men and women who have given up their Friday afternoon, without an order, to work along side our people in the hot sun on U.S. 90 medians. We say, ‘Thank you.'”
Those were Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich’s words about a contingent of some 60 Keesler airmen who assisted Biloxi Parks & Recreation and Public Works crews tidying up the medians and sidewalks on west beach this afternoon. The city provided gloves, shovels and water to the airmen, who were responding to a call for volunteers from Col. Michele Edmondson, commander of Keesler’s 81st Training Wing.
Added Gilich: “This city and this base have enjoyed a long and productive relationship, and this one of the reasons. There’s a commitment and an appreciation that works both ways. You see it time and again.”
See photos from the front lines
News and notes
Special called meeting: Members of the Biloxi City Council have called a public hearing for Tuesday at 6 p.m. for the public to comment on the proposed municipal budget for Fiscal Year 2017, which begins Oct. 1. The budget proposes no property tax increase. See the meeting agenda by clicking here.
Podcast: Did you catch the “City Desk” podcast when it was posted Thursday, with news about the new city attorney, the new role or Gerald Blessey, or talk of front beach development and retiring K-9s? If you missed it Thursday, it’s still online, along with previous programs. Visit the City Desk podcast archive by clicking here.
Like it now: Fast-breaking news and traffic updates are routinely passed along through the city’s Facebook and Twitter accounts. Visit the city’s Facebook page by clicking here, and click Like once you’re there. One important note: Make sure your settings have City of Biloxi notifications appearing first in your news feed. You can also follow the city of Twitter at @CityofBiloxi.
