FESTIVAL OF THE SEA, Orlando, 2016

Well folks, another festival is behind us. On Saturday, June 18th, we headed over to Orlando for the "first ever" Festival of the Sea, seafood festival. The organizers had sold nearly 3,000 tickets they claimed, but expected 4,000 heat-braving folks to turn out for this event. Their predictions on numbers were probably close as we sold over 200 ears of roasted corn, which accounts for around 4-5% of those who attended. It was a small festival by our standards, but we were enthusiastic about it since it was a first-time event, and one that focused on seafood with caribbean overtones. Some of our vendor friends were there, like Rudi from Belgium. Rudi sells authentic Belgian waffles (if you've never tried one, you don't know what you're missing)! What Americans call Belgian waffles are really American waffles just called Belgian waffles. Rudi's waffles are so rich in taste with a special sugar that he can only buy in Belgium. The sugar coats the waffles from inside out. Yummy! Then we met Maury and Tanya with their delicious Authentic Empanadas! I tasted the spinach empanada, while my brother Jim tried the all beef empanada. Nice crunchy exterior with lots of flavor on the inside! A must try!!! Other vendors sold crab (Jaxcatch from Jacksonville, Florida), fish, crab cakes, hotdogs (America's Favorite Foods), Italian sausage, pineapple bowls with mac-n-cheese, shrimp, and other seafood inside, Italian ice, sno cones, and much more! The crowd was fun too. Very up beat with lots of kids and families. A band at one end of the park kept the whole day moving. Even the portalets were cheerful with their lime green colors from OCP (Orange County Potties) logos. This first time event in our opinion was fun, fun, fun! We hope that the organizers put this on next year for all to enjoy!