Port Salerno Seafood Festival is Getting the Boot!

From John Hennessy one of the organizers of the Port Salerno Seafood Festival:

Port Salerno Seafood Festival is Getting the Boot!

Regrettably, Martin County Commissioners on October 22, 2019, denied our request from the Port Salerno Seafood Festival organization to expand the event to a two-day festival.   They voted 4 to 1 (Commissioner Doug Smith dissenting) to not approve our request. They even stated that the festival needs to be moved to another location next year.  It cannot succeed in another location.   Without the character that our quaint fishing village, without the ambiance of the commercial docks and the commercial fishermen,  and food prepared by the families of our local fishermen,….. the festival will fail. 

These four commissioners shamefully succumbed to the complaints of a few disgruntled residents.  They complain that their personal property rights are being violated.  That drunks disturb them, throw trash and relieve themselves on their property, on and on..!  They complained that there is trash everywhere after the event.   Yet our clean-up efforts are so good that by Sunday noon, people comment that you can’t even tell the event took place.

    Port Salerno Seafood Festival is getting the Boot!

Port Salerno Seafood Festival is getting the Boot!

The Port Salerno Seafood Festival is one of the best and most popular events on the Treasure Coast.  This Seafood Festival is so popular that people come from all over the country.  Out of state visitors plan their vacations around our seafood festival. 

This festival has donated over $200,000.00 to charitable organizations over the past five years, approximately two thirds have been to the Port Salerno Commercial Fishing Dock Authority.   These commercial fishermen have been an integral part of the historic heritage of Salerno.  The Dock Authority relies on these donations to help cover their operating expenses.

We conducted two polls of all those neighbors that were directly inside the boundaries of the festival, and over 80% were happy and approved of us going forward with a two-day event.   The opposition group was composed almost entirely of neighbors whose residences were outside the boundary of the festival.

And it would take an expose’ to describe the enormous Economic Impact of this event.

Our commissioners should re-think their decision….they did our county a GREAT disservice…!   Let them know how you feel.

The one-day Port Salerno Seafood Festival is on for January 25, 2020.   Please continue to support our fishermen.

To contact the individual board members see below!

Doug Smith

Stacey Hetherington

Harold Jenkins

Sarah Heard

Edward Ciampi

Please feel free to leave a comment below.

Our community is always welcome to submit to our Letter to the Editor at newsroom@treasurecoast.com

 

Sign up for alerts and daily digests- free all the time not just disasters www.treasurecoast.com

Facebook  https://www.facebook.com/Treasurecoast/

 

TreasureCoast

TreasureCoast

Share

Post Info

  • Posted 4 years ago

Read More

The Insider's Guide to Florida's Treasure Coast

Subscribe

Receive the latest tips, information, & news!