Article Details20th Annual Hampton Beach Seafood Festival |
| Date Added: August 14, 2009 10:04:43 PM |
| Author: |
| Category: Festivals |
| Event organizers are already in full gear preparing for a milestone event, the 20th Annual Hampton Beach Seafood Festival, scheduled for September 11, 12, and 13th, 2009. It all started in May of 1988 when a small group of the Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce business owners gathered together at the State Park on the southern tip of Hampton Beach to promote Hampton's local restaurants and offer samplings of their seafood specialties to visitors. 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 and date to where it is presently held at the center of Hampton Beach on 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 and growth to the Festival. With Ocean Boulevard closed to vehicular traffic, a safe and enjoyable seaside pedestrian promenade was formed. The Hampton Beach Seafood Festival has evolved dramatically since 1988. With 39,000 square feet of covered tent space showcasing 55 of the Seacoast's top restaurants serving an abundance of mouthwatering New England seafood, 80 Arts & Crafts vendors promoting locally made products and hundreds of Ocean Boulevard merchants offering end-of-the-season Sidewalk Sales, the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival has become the largest non-spectator event held in the state of New Hampshire. The three day festival draws crowds of tourists and locals alike with attendance currently estimated as exceeding 150,000! The Hampton Beach Seafood Festival has once again been honored with the prestigious award of being "One of the Top 100 Events in North America", by the American Bus Association in 2009. ABA's Top 100 Events in North America is an annual compendium of the best events for group travel in the United States and Canada. Each spring, a committee of ABA-member motorcoach and tour operators selects the Top 100 Events for the subsequent year; the list is unveiled in September. Winners are chosen from hundreds of celebrations, festivals, fairs, commemorative events, and more that have been nominated by state tourism offices and local and regional convention and visitors' bureaus. The Seafood Festival has been awarded the "Top 100" designation four times in the past, in 1996, 2001, 2003, 2006, and 2008. Being on the list brings an obvious boost in tourism in the area by increasing the exposure of the event as a designation for bus tours during the Festival. Although the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival continues to grow and evolve; the mission remains the same. For the past 20 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 Chamber members say it is even bigger than the "4th of July" in sales volume! The Festival, held the weekend after Labor Day, is also instrumental in extending the summer season. 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 Seafood Festival is a win-win situation for everyone involved; 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 business colleagues, the community, 500 volunteers, and friends pull together to put on a world class event. The Hampton Beach Seafood Festival is sponsored by the Hampton Area Chamber of Commerce. For more information, visit http://www.hamptonbeachseafoodfestival.com/ |
