Boston Seafood Festival Archives

MASSACHUSETTS: 2022 Boston Seafood Festival: Monkfish, local seafood and how Tommy Lee Jones came up

August 10, 2022 –It was a banner day at the Boston Seafood Festival Sunday.

I suspect the sultry 95-degree temperatures kept some of the crowds at bay, which was nice because while the event, sponsored by the Boston Fisheries Foundation, was well attended it wasn’t a swirling mass of humanity.

Vendors were set up in a long, large horseshoe anchored by the Harpoon beer garden at the water end of the pier. There was also a small stage and a handful of performers while we were there, activities for kids, cooking demonstrations, and thankfully free, cold water everywhere. It was a happy, if not sweaty, crowd.

And there was plenty of both food and information. The event was equal parts education and ingestion. NOAA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, the Seafood Nutrition Partnership, and several other organizations were all namely there for two reasons. One was to remind people that eating local isn’t just about vegetables and craft beer, it extends to seafood as well and two, to be mindful of the preservation of that seafood.

I briefly chatted recipes with a guy from NOAA, when I picked up a recipe card for monkfish. Monkfish is just one of those, frankly frightening-looking fish I’ve yet to try but according to NOAA, it’s a good option.

Wild-caught monkfish are sustainably managed and responsibly harvested according to NOAA. It’s also a good source of protein and rich in other nutrients — just don’t Google a photo of it

Read the full article at WickedLocal.com

MASSACHUSETTS: Boston Seafood Festival Returns this Sunday

August 4, 2022 — The following was released by the Boston Seafood Festival

Event: Boston Seafood Festival

Date: Sunday, August 7, 2022 from 11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Location: Boston’s Fish Pier, Boston MA 02210

About: The 9^th Annual Boston Seafood Festival will open its gates to thousands of visitors to enjoy culinary demonstrations, learn about the fishing industry, and enjoy seafood from some of the region’s best restaurants. Hosted on the historic Boston Fish Pier, the event occurs in the heart of the New England fishing industry.

Website: www.bostonseafoodfestival.org

Tickets: Tickets remain available for purchase at bostonseafoodfestival.org, or at the event gate on Sunday. General admission tickets are $20 for adults, $7 for children aged six through 12, and free for children aged five and under.

Beneficiary: A portion of all proceeds support the Boston Fisheries Foundation, a non-profit organization created to preserve, sustain, and share the region’s seafood and maritime heritage.

Social Media: Find event updates on the Boston Seafood Festival Facebook page, @BostonSeaFest on Twitter, or join the conversation by using #BostonSeaFest.

About the Boston Fisheries Foundation:

The Boston Fisheries Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization created to preserve, sustain, and share the region’s seafood and maritime heritage, and the regional economy it supports. The BFF works to protect our oceans and fisheries while promoting Boston’s historic Fish Pier. The BFF created the Boston Seafood Festival to celebrate Boston’s rich fishing history, its bustling economic impact, and its bright, sustainable future.

Schedule of Events Boston Seafood Festival, Sunday, August 4, 2019

11:00 a.m.	Festival Begins (Beer Garden, Lobster Bake Tent, Kids Activities begin)	Opening Gate
11:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m.	Music by Acoustic Aaron	Lobster Bake Tent
11:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m.	Music by Rocking Rose	Mid-Per Riser
11:45 a.m. – 4:45 p.m.	Chef Demonstrations	Throughout Pier
12:30 p.m. – 12:50 p.m.	Welcome Remarks and Seafood Hall of Fame Inductions (Lisa Weiland, J.J. Bartlett, Ray Flynn)	Main Stage
12:50 p.m. – 1:20 p.m.	Inclusive Unity Blessing	Main Stage
1:15 p.m.	Showing of Dead in the Water	The Exchange Center
1:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.	Lion and Tiger Dancers	Throughout Pier
1:30 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.	Fish Cutting Demonstrations	Mid-Pier Riser
1:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.	Roving Pirates	Throughout Pier
2:45 p.m. – 5:40 p.m.	Music from Hipshot Band Set 1	Main Stage
3:00 p.m.	Battle of the Shuckers Oyster Shucking Competition	Mid-Pier Riser
3:00 p.m.	Showing of Fish & Men	The Exchange Center
4:30 p.m.	Showing of A Fish Story	The Exchange Center
6:00 p.m.	Festival Ends

MASSACHUSETTS: Boston Fish Pier gets historic place designation

August 21, 2017 — Visitors to the Boston Seafood Festival on Sunday can savor the lobster bake, watch fish-cutting demonstrations, or throw one back at the beer garden. Most will be unaware the place where they’re standing — the Boston Fish Pier — has become a touchstone in the struggle to hold on to the city’s historic character.

The pier just landed on the National Register of Historic Places. The decision was expected: The Massachusetts Historical Commission had voted to endorse the listing, and the National Park Service typically adheres to this kind of recommendation.

Local politicians — such as Nick Collins and Michael Flaherty, both of South Boston — pushed for this, in part as a way to help reassure the pier’s seafood businesses of their future on a rapidly changing waterfront.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

MASSACHUSETTS: Live Music, Matchups, and More for all ages at Seaport’s Fish Pier Sunday, August 13th, Boston’s Landmark Fish Pier

July 27, 2017 — BOSTON, Mass. — The following was released by the Boston Seafood Festival:

Live music from popular local performers and blue-grass bands, kids’ favorites like face-painting and costumed pirates and all-day festivities make this summer’s Boston Seafood Festival on August 13, 11am – 7pm, a must for seafood lovers of all ages.

Some of the festivities in store for attendees of Boston’s biggest and tastiest seafood festival include a live performance from headliner American Idol alum and rising country star Ayla Brown as well as numerous activities for children and families.

Along with fish cutting demonstrations by celebrity chefs, a lobster bake tent, and a beer garden, Boston Seafood Festival guests are able to enjoy a plethora of activities ranging from face painting to photos with roaming pirates and costumed characters. Attendees will also be entertained by live music including the rhythmic rock band La Joya, a soulful jazz band and the vivacious bluegrass inspired band, Wheelhouse Rodeo.

Sunday, August 13

Over All Activities

12:00 – 1:30pm Fish Cutting Demonstration (Pier)

12:00 – 6:00pm Lobster Bake Tent (Throughout Pier)

12:00– 6:00pm Beer Garden (Throughout Pier)

12:00 – 6:00pm Kids Activities (Throughout Pier)

12:00 – 6:00pm Acoustic Aaron (Lobster Bake)

12:00– 6:00pm Chef Demos (Throughout Pier)

1:30 – 4:30pm Pirates (Throughout Pier)

2:30– 3:30pm Battle of the Shuckers (Pier)

Main Stage

11:30 – 12:15pm Welcome Program

12:30– 1:30pm A Jazz Band

2:00 – 2:30pm Interfaith Unity Blessing

2:30 – 3:15pm Two Way Radio

3:30 – 4:30pm Wheelhouse Rodeo

4:45– 5:40pm Ayla Brown

5:30 – 6:30pm La Joya Band

Scheduled times are subject to change

Tickets are $15.00 and are available at http://www.bostonseafoodfestival.org/. Proceeds underwrite Boston Seafood Festival and in part support the work of the Boston Fisheries Foundation, a not-for profit organization that preserves and protects the local seafood industry’s long-term viability as well as safeguards the ocean’s present and future natural resources.

The Boston Seafood Festival is presented by Boston Fisheries Foundation along with generous sponsors that include; Massport, Harpoon, Stavis Seafoods, Channel Fish, The John Nagle Company, Quarterdeck, JCDecaux, Carpenter’s Union, Ipswich Clambake, East Boston Savings Bank, Boston Sword & Tuna, and F.J. O’Hara & Son’s. Boston Seafood Festival is managed and produced by Conventures, Boston’s leading events management and communications agency.

About Boston Seafood Festival:

Presented by Boston Fisheries Foundation, Boston Seafood Festival combines a terrific family-friendly day of delicious seafood sampling, live music, local chef demonstrations, children’s activities and more with a rare opportunity to learn more about preserving Boston’s essential seafood and maritime heritage.

For more information and a complete list of activities, please visit http://bostonseafoodfestival.org. Check out event updates on the Seafood Festival Facebook page, @BostonSeaFest on Twitter, or follow the conversation using #BostonSeaFest

MASSACHUSETTS: Sixth Annual Boston Seafood Festival

July 13, 2017 — The following was released by the Boston Seafood Festival:

The sixth annual Boston Seafood Festival, the biggest and tastiest seafood event of the summer, takes over Boston’s historic Fish Pier on Sunday, August 13, 2017 from 11am–7:00pm.

Presented by Boston Fisheries Foundation, Boston Seafood Festival combines a terrific family friendly day of delicious seafood sampling, live music, local chef demonstrations, children’s activities and more with a rare opportunity to learn more about preserving Boston’s essential seafood and maritime heritage.

“We encourage everyone to visit our annual must attend seafood event just brimming with New England favorites like our all day lobster bake, the legendary battle of the shuckers, and great seafood sampling from Boston’s finest seafood vendors,” said Chris Basile, president of Boston Fisheries Foundation. He added, “It’s also a great way to celebrate Boston’s heritage as the seafood hub of our country by engaging with entertaining educational exhibits and demonstrations by real working fishermen right from the dock at Fish Pier.”

Tickets are $15.00 and are available at http://www.bostonseafoodfestival.org/. Proceeds underwrite Boston Seafood Festival and in part support the work of the Boston Fisheries Foundation, a not for profit organization which preserves and protects the local seafood industry’s long term viability as well as safeguards the ocean’s present and future natural resources.

Event highlights also include food for purchase, a blessing of the fleet, notable speakers, face painting, costumed characters, among other festivities.

The Boston Seafood Festival is presented by Boston Fisheries Foundation along with generous sponsors that include; Massport, Harpoon, Stavis Seafoods, Channel Fish, The

John Nagle Company, Quarterdeck, JCDecaux, Carpenter’s Union, Ipswich Clambake, East Boston Savings Bank, and F.J. O’Hara & Son’s. Boston Seafood Festival is managed and produced by Conventures, Boston’s leading events management and communications agency.

For more information and a complete list of activities, please visit http://bostonseafoodfestival.org.

Fifth Annual Boston Seafood Festival Draws Thousands, Features New England Fishermen’s Panel

August 9, 2016 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The fifth annual Boston Seafood Festival was held over the weekend at the Boston Fish Pier. The event is hosted by the Boston Fisheries Foundation, whose membership includes major Boston seafood operators Stavis Seafood and John Nagle Co among others.

The festival has grown into a successful annual event since its founding. Thousands of attendees are drawn to the event that features a Blessing of the Fleet, oyster shucking contest, lobster bake, beer garden and seafood cooking demos led by well-known chefs from popular restaurants around Boston.

Unique to the festival this year was a panel discussion with some notable New England fishermen. Stavis Seafoods CEO Richard Stavis moderated the panel that included Gloucester-based fishermen Joe Orlando and Al Cottone along with Rob Martin from Boston’s South Shore.

The panel highlighted the current issues faced by New England’s fishing industry and what steps need to taken to improve the industry.

The festival also inducted Angela Sanfilippo, the president of the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association, into the Boston Seafood Hall of Fame.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

MASSACHUSETTS: A win for Gloucester Fresh

February 24, 2016 — For former Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk, it was a rare home game in her role as the executive secretary of the state’s Seaport Economic Council. For the city, it was another step forward in its efforts to brand and market its seafood and seafood businesses.

The Seaport Economic Council and its chairwoman, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, rolled into Gloucester on Tuesday morning, meeting for more than two hours at the Tavern on the Harbor and awarding 10 state grants worth $5.15 million to 10 Massachusetts entities — including $151,000 to the city’s Gloucester Fresh Seafood Innovation Program.

The Gloucester grant, according to city Economic Development Director Sal Di Stefano, will help the city expand its campaign to promote its seafood harvest locally, regionally and nationally. That expansion includes the nine-day rental of two digital billboards along Route 1 in advance of the city’s participation in the annual Seafood Expo North America in Boston during the first week of March.

Di Stefano said the billboards alone are expected to convey the city’s branding message to at least 400,000 commuters during the city’s run on them.

He said the grant money also will be used to defray the city’s overall costs of participating in the Seafood Expo North America show and the Boston Seafood Festival in each of the next two years.

Read the full story from the Gloucester Daily Times

DR. BRIAN J. ROTHSCHILD INDUCTED INTO THE BOSTON SEAFOOD HALL OF FAME

SEAFOODNEWS.COM — August 3, 2015 — The Boston Fisheries Foundation named Dr. Brian J. Rothschild as its 2015 inductee into the Boston Seafood Hall of Fame during the fourth annual Boston Seafood Festival held on the Boston Fish Pier this past Sunday August 2.

Dr. Rothschild, President of the Center for Sustainable Fisheries, was honored for his distinguished research and leadership in the management and sustainability of local fisheries the Foundation said.

“Brian has been a major influence in fisheries management policy for decades at a local and international level,” said Richard Stavis, Boston Fisheries Foundation Board Member and CEO of Stavis Seafoods.“He served as a consultant, policy advisor and leading expert for numerous fishery management organizations and governments across the globe. His work with the Massachusetts Fisheries Recovery Commission, the Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Institute and the Center for Sustainable Fisheries, which he helped found, have positively changed the dynamics and effectiveness of our local fishery management efforts.”

Dr. Rothschild of New Bedford, Massachusetts is the Montgomery Charter Professor Emeritus of Marine Science, former Dean and founder of the School for Marine Science and Technology at UMass Dartmouth. He has taught across the country at the Universities of Maryland, Washington, Hawaii and Miami, Harvard University and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.

Dr. Rothschild is the current President of the Center for Sustainable Fisheries and has served as Co-Chairman of the Massachusetts Fisheries Recovery Commission and Co-Director of the Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Institute. He has also worked as a senior policy advisory for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association and managed NOAA’s implementation of the Fisheries Conservation and Management Act of 1976.

Working with the Food and Drug Administration and the United Nations, Dr. Rothschild has been involved with policy creation and planning in countries around the world, including Korea, France, Ireland, Egypt, Peru and the United Kingdom. He is also the author of five books, including “Dynamics of Marine Fish Populations,” published by Harvard University Press.

“Brian’s global reach and local, grass roots efforts have help revolutionize our understanding of marine science and fisheries management,” added Stavis. “ He is not only a leading scientist and author but a teacher and activist who is focused on bettering the future of our oceans and environment.”

This story originally appeared on SEAFOODNEWS.COM, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.