Fiddler Crab Festival

Saturday, February 18, 2023

Hi Blog!

A recent cold front blew through Old Town, Florida where we are camped. It's a little too chilly and windy for another paddle, so we decided to take the day off. Our campground host clued us into the Steinhatchee Fiddler Crab Festival this weekend. Steinhatchee plays host to over 300 vendors, music events, a cook-off, a fiddler crab race and fireworks. We were curious about the crab race, so we decided to head on over and check it out.

Steinhatchee's long history of human habitation includes prehistoric man dating from 12,000 BC, pirates from 15th through 18th centuries, loggers in the 1800s, sponge divers in the 1940s and 50s and commercial fishermen, shrimpers, and crabbers today.

We had to cross a large bridge over the Steinhatchee River to get to downtown Steinhatchee. Traffic had backed up across the bridge and both sides of the bridge were completely parked up. We noticed a couple getting into their Jeep, so we creeped forward and asked if we could have their parking spot. They pulled a U-turn in front of us and we slipped into their spot. You've got to love fellow Jeepers!

Here is the view of the festival from the bridge:

As we made our way off the bridge, we got a closer view of the Fiddler Crab Festival. 

After paying to gain entrance to the festival, we slowly made our way up and down the aisles. We are always on the lookout for unique items. We found the Brassy Peach Boutique bus to be the most unique vendor. However, the bus looked more pink than peachy.

Found in mangroves, in salt marshes, and on sandy or muddy beaches, fiddler crabs are easily recognized by their distinctively asymmetric claws. The males' major claw is much larger than the minor claw, while the females' claws are both the same size.

As it turned out, we just missed the races. There were two heats, one for kids and one for adults. The winning crabs in each heat received $100.00 in prize money and a trophy. Second and third place finishers only got a trophy.

The crabs start the race in a red solo cup, shimmy down the PVC track and dive into the solo cup at the end. First crab in the cup wins.

Here is what the race course looked like.

We stopped for lunch at the Smokin' like a 57 Chevy. The BBQ truck had their smoker right on the back. The smell was amazing and so was the pulled pork. Nothing like a little love for lunch!

After lunch, we strolled through the car show.

Of course, we had to stop and admire this Jeep!

There were several sunglasses vendors, but this one claimed to be pre-viewed sunglasses, rescued from the Orlando theme parks' Lost and Found. I was curious, so I checked it out. Yes, Disney and Universal offer unclaimed Lost and Found items for sale. The cast members get first chance, but then the public comes in. Anything not sold gets donated to Goodwill. Who knew?

The kids corner was filled with bouncy houses, arcade games and a small train ride.

The Soda Pop Shop was tempting, but it was still too cold for ice cold lemonade.

It was interesting to note that almost half the vehicles parked along the road were golf carts and ATVs. This is the first one we have seen with such a large lift kit. We wondered if he ever ran it at the Perry Mud Truck Rally. If you are curious, you can click this link to see what happened to us at the Mud Truck Rally in 2013.

We are always looking for unique items to fill the Christmas stockings. However, if we can't find the perfect gift, we usually come home with something edible. Today's finds: two different types of homemade pickles -- classic kosher and spicy horseradish. We also scored two unusual jams - sweet tater jam and pumpkin jam.

All in all, the craft vendors here were not nearly as artistic or interesting as the craft vendors we saw at the Mt. Dora Arts Festival recently.  The food was more downhome country cooking here, but we estimated that the number of vendors and visitors was comparable in both.  We'll remember the pulled pork here for some time!