Hampton Beach Seafood Festival

From Hampton Beach Seafood Festival Website:

THE HAMPTON BEACH SEAFOOD FESTIVAL CELEBRATES 25 YEARS OF WORLD-FAMOUS SEAFOOD AT NEW ENGLANDS LARGEST SEASIDE FESTIVAL!

Join us for our extraordinary anniversary party!

Hampton Beach Seafood Festival History and Mission

In May of 1988 a small group of the Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce business owners and merchants assembled at the State Park on the southern tip of Hampton Beach to put on the 1st Annual Seafood Festival as a way to promote Hamptons local restaurants and offer samplings of their seafood specialties. While the weather did not cooperate and held crowds at bay, the spirit of the organizers was not dampened.

In 1990 the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival changed location & date to where it is presently held at the center of Hampton Beach, the weekend after Labor Day. The move necessitated the closing of Ocean Boulevard from H St. to the Memorial Statue and with it brought a dramatic impact to the Festival. With Ocean Boulevard closed to vehicular traffic, a safe and enjoyable seaside pedestrian promenade was formed.

Now, 25 years later, with over 150,000 attendees annually, the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival has become the largest event held in the great State of New Hampshire and has been acclaimed as One of the Top 100 Events in North America for the last 13 years by the American Bus association.

Festivities include: Over 60 of the Seacoasts top restaurants serving an abundance of mouthwatering seafood delicacies; 80 Arts & Crafts vendors promoting locally made products; hundreds of Ocean Boulevard merchants offering end-of-the-season sidewalk sales; a Kiddie Land with ongoing entertainment and games presented by Radio Disney; continuous culinary chef demonstrations produced by Pat Whitley; and two stages of continuous entertainment featuring top regional bands. There are three dont miss main events planned throughout the weekend the must-see Lobster Roll Eating Competition and spectacular fireworks display on Saturday and on Sunday spectators will view an amazing Sky Diving extravaganza by Sky Dive New England.

Free parking and shuttle service is offered at over 13 in-town satellite parking lots. The shuttle service has proved to be the fastest, safest, and most cost effective way to get to the Festival. With no cost and less aggravation, it has become the most popular way to attend and enjoy the festival for families and our volunteers.

Although the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival continues to grow and evolve; our mission remains the same. For the past 25 years, the Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce and Seafood Festival Committee have helped put New Hampshire on the map as a vacation destination. The Hampton Beach Seafood Festival has a profound effect on seacoast businesses, our community, and the overall economy of the area. Restaurants, lodging, shops, and businesses in general depend on the Seafood Festival as the primary contributor to their bottom line. Many business owners say it is even bigger than the 4th of July in sales volume! Dozens of non-profit organizations also earn a major portion of their income through revenues earned at the Festival, allowing them to continue to support their causes that benefit the citizens of New Hampshire. The Festival, held the weekend after Labor Day, is also instrumental in extending the summer season. The Seafood Festival adds to the quality of life of our business people, the community, the town, the State of New Hampshire and for Tourism in general. But most of all, it is a fun-filled weekend in which all of our business colleagues, the community, 600 volunteers, and our friends pull together to put on a World Class Event and create lifetime memories for the 150,000 who attend!

Come Celebrate the Last Blast of Summer!
Bon Apptit!