Blessing of the Stone Crab Fleet
One of the most popular annual events is held in the small town of Everglades City, known as the Stone Crab Capital of the World. Stone crabs as you know are very tasty and can only be harvested for a limited time each year. On Saturday, Sept. 26, everyone is invited for the annual Blessing of the Stone Crab Fleet on the bank of the Barron River at the Rod & Gun Club Lodge. The event starts at 10 a.m. with arts and crafts booths, music, face painting, a frog jumping contest and a stone crab art contest for the kids, the annual Coconut Guava Cake Baking Contest and more. At noon local pastors will bless each boat as the town's stone crab fishermen prepare for the annual Stone Crab Season (Oct. 15 through May 15). Cake contest participants will have samples in a bake sale. The winner is awarded a $100 prize. Traditional recipes for this local specialty have been handed down over the years and remain family secrets. The celebration is organized by the Everglades Society for Historic Preservation.
If you want to get Florida stone crabs as fresh as you can get them just go to Everglades City and you can get them right off the docks. Everglades City is a small fishing town about 35 miles south of Naples and 80 miles east of Miami. Dozens of stone-crab fishermen are based on its Barron River, and so are several informal, unpretentious seafood restaurants. This is definitely a local event you don’t want to miss.
September 26, 2015
Hours: 10 am-1 pm
Rod & Gun Club Lodge, 200 Riverside Drive, Everglades City, FL 34139
239-260-4577
