John’s Pass Seafood Festival requests the support of the community as the City of Madeira Beach will be coming to a decision on the waiver of parking fees for the festival on July 31st at 2:00 p.m. The City has estimated the cost of these fees at $22,000. If the commission refuses to pass this waiver the event will end this year.
John’s Pass Seafood Festival joins the many events that once gave life to the area already terminated or been put in jeopardy by their current commission. These include Old Salt’s King of the Beach Kingfish Tournament, Old Salt’s Baddest BBQ on The Bone Fishing Slam, and Angler Armory’s Wild West Fishing Series along with the many concerts and events previously held at ROC Park and on Madeira Way.
With the addition of these fees the festival will no longer be able to sustain financially. The festival’s board of directors works year long to promote the event, John’s Pass Village, and the City of Madeira Beach spending over $100,000 in marketing and promotion to keep the area top of mind for visitors to the local area. The City has never collected parking revenue on this weekend in the past.
The tradition of a free event, volunteer efforts, community, and charity donations has been a part of the community for 36 years. Last year the festival donated $24,188 in cash and in kind value to charities. The remaining proceeds continue the marketing fund for the destination. A portion of this year’s proceeds are planned to be donated to Pinellas County Schools, A Reel Future, Lupus Foundation, and American Heart Association.
The John’s Pass Seafood Festival has featured non-stop musical performances from some of the best bands, hundreds of craft vendors, hundreds of local businesses, amazing seafood and has always been free to the public. The festival boasts over 150,000 visitors to the area in four days. These visitor support local businesses by staying, shopping, and eating locally within the City and surrounding communities.
Please help us keep one of the barrier island’s longest standing traditions alive by attending the workshop meeting on July 24th at 2:00 p.m. at 300 Municipal Drive, Madeira Beach. If you are unable to attend you can contact the Madeira Beach City Manager, Mayor, and Commission via email. Please copy johnpassseafood@gmail.com on all transcriptions regarding this matter.
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