About The 55th Annual Seafood Festival

The Chincoteague Seafood Festival is held the first Saturday in May to promote the seafood industry on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The festival offers fresh, local seafood and will include exciting offerings and signature dishes from local restaurants as well as old and new Eastern Shore favorites prepared by famous festival cooks, volunteers, and professionals.  Indulge on little neck clams, a long-time festival staple, along with raw oysters and clams, clam fritters, single fried oysters, fried fish, crab cheddar jalapeno poppers, steamed shrimp, clam chowder, salad bar, grilled chicken, sweet potato fries, Boardwalk fries, hushpuppies, and cornbread.  Non-alcoholic beverages are included in the ticket price with beer available for purchase.

New in 2025, Island Boy Music, who has been rocking the tunes at the Chincoteague Oyster Festival for over 30 years,will provide live entertainment for everyone’s listening and dancing enjoyment.

Shop to your hearts content in the Arts and Crafts Corral featuring handmade creations from area artisans.  An Extravaganza Raffle is held with the winner receiving t-shirts, tickets, trays, lodging, gift certificates for meals, and much more for the following year’s festival.  There will also be a variety of merchandise available for purchase including t-shirts, hats, souvenir food trays, and glass beer mugs.

Festival Timeline

10:00 am – Gates open (NO EARLY ENTRY FOR SETUP) Any items set up prior to 10am on festival day are subject to removal.

11:00 am – Appetizer tents begin serving – Clam Chowder, Salad Bar, Boardwalk Fries, Sweet Potato Fries, Hushpuppies, Cornbread, Grilled Chicken

12:00 pm – Seafood tents begins serving – Raw Oysters & Clams, “Little Neck” Steamed Clams, Single Fried Oysters, Fried Fish, Steamed Shrimp, Clam Fritters, Crab Cheddar Jalapeno Poppers
Live music begins with Island Boy Music.

4:00 pm – Festival ends

6:00 pm – Due to insurance liability purposes, all attendees and volunteers must exit the festival grounds

Tickets

$65 per person (Children under 5 are FREE)

Tickets Can Be Purchased HERE, Calling 757-336-6161 or at The Chamber Office & Visitor Center, 6733 Maddox Boulevard, Chincoteague.

REFUND POLICY – Event is held rain or shine. Every attempt will be made to have the festival on the date and time advertised, however circumstances beyond the Chamber’s control may require rescheduling or delay. All sales are final in case of ticketholder cancellation or organizer postponement. If the event is cancelled by the organizer or due to circumstances beyond our control, tickets may be transferred to a future festival or refunded at 80% within 60 days of cancellation. After that time, only ticket transfers to future festivals will be honored.

Tickets are limited, so order early!!! This is a sell out event!

Please Note

All e-tickets must be scanned either by our volunteer scanners at the entrance of Toms Cove Park or at the Will Call tent to acquire festival wristband.

All attendees must have a festival wristband prior to entrance to festival grounds.

Attendees can come and go to the festival grounds from 10am – noon.

No re-entry to festival grounds after noon. Upon leaving festival grounds, wristbands will be cut.

All attendees age 21 and over MUST provide a photo ID at the beer tent in order to purchase beer. No exceptions!

Beer tent and desserts only accept cash. Some Arts & Crafts vendors only accept cash, so please come prepared!

Due to the popularity of the seafood we offer, we cannot guarantee that each item will be available up until 4pm.

Eat all you want, but please do not remove food from the festival grounds.

No pets, vehicles, golf carts, one wheels, bicycles, or fire pits/rings are permitted inside the festival grounds for safety purposes.

UPON PURCHASE OF TICKET(S), YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE TO ALL THE ABOVE MENTIONED TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

We thank you for cooperation in making this a wonderful festival!

Accessibility

While all are welcome to attend, please note that the festival grounds cover approx. 90,000 sq. feet to accommodate festival tents and almost 3,000 attendees. The festival is held at a campground, so the ground has grassy areas with some tree roots, and gravel roads. Food tents are primarily located on the perimeter of the festival grounds and lines will be long, especially at the beginning of the day. Handicap parking is available on a first come, first serve basis and a courtesy shuttle is available to help transport individuals from handicap parking to the festival grounds