This event celebrates Galveston’s great wild seafood and island lifestyle featuring shrimp gumbo tasting, a gumbo cook-off, a 5K fun run & more Sept. 25-26 at the Galveston Island Shrimp Festival.
The festival takes place in Historic Downtown Galveston, with activities centered around The Strand and surrounding downtown areas.
Festival goers can enjoy gumbo tastings, live music, a 5K run, the Lil’ Shrimps Parade and activities throughout downtown. The weekend combines Gulf Coast flavors with entertainment and family-friendly fun.
The festival offers family-friendly activities, including the Lil’ Shrimps Parade, along with food, music, and entertainment for visitors of different ages.
Event festivities begin with the Friday Kick-Off Party in Saengerfest Park with over 800 guests! Tickets are available to the public for purchase and include a Texas-size shrimp dinner, free-flowing libations, and live music.
Some festival activities require tickets or registration. Visitors can purchase tickets and find admission information through the official Galveston Island Shrimp Festival website.
The Shrimp Gumbo Cook-Off, boat show, vendor exhibits, and live music will be held in the Historic Strand District on that same Saturday beginning at 10 am. Visitors to the festival will be able to purchase a Gumbo Sampling Cup in advance. This cup will allow guests to sample gumbo from cook-off teams from 12-4 p.m. Attendees can also purchase the Shrimp Dinner Plate Combo, which features fried shrimp and a free beer.
If you’d like to get in on all the action, register to be an official judge for our Amateur Cook-Off division!
Professional teams from some of Galveston Island’s famous restaurants will also be selling various dishes for public purchase.
For tickets and additional information visit www.galvestonislandshrimpfestival.com
5k Fun Run
The 5K Fun Run will be held starting 9:00 am at Beerfoot Brewery on the Seawall.5K tickets include:
- 5k Registration
- Exclusive Event T-shirt (first 400 runners)
- Participation Medal (first 250 runners)
- 3 FREE Beers!
- Famous Gumbo Stroll Ticket Not Included!
A portion of event proceeds will benefit the Resource and Crisis Center, Justin Hughes Fund, and University of Texas Medical Branch.
Schedule
Friday
7:30 pm – 10 pm
Friday Kick-Off Party
Live music begins
Saturday
9:00 am
Shrimp Scamper 5k Fun Run begins (located at Beerfoot Brewery/Seawall Blvd) – Perks of the 5K Fun Run include performance t-shirts, participation medals, a costume contest, one free beer at runner’s happy hour and TWO free beers after the run! The 5k Combo tickets allow runners to enjoy the best of both worlds by including the downtown activities. Choose from the 5k + Gumbo Stroll, or 5k + Shrimp Dinner Plate to truly round out your experience.
10:00 am
Vendors open
Ron Hoover Boat Show begins
11:30 am
Ticket booths open for will-call (pre-purchased tickets only)
Strand Merchant Walk-About begins
12:00 pm
Live music begins
Famous Gumbo Stroll begins – Join us as Galveston’s Historic Strand District is transformed into a melting pot of flavors! Sample gumbo from talented cook teams, award-winning cookers & backyard roux roughneck. Be sure to come early to try them all!
Shrimp Dinner Plate begins – Participate in the Cook Off! Whip up a batch of your best gumbo recipe and bring it on down to the Galveston Historical Strand. Compete in the Amateur or Professional divisions for the gold and Shrimp Gumbo Champion bragging rights. Although every gumbo has its own unique taste, they can’t all be winners. Here is your chance to light up those judges’ taste buds and show ‘em what you got! There is a $1,000 cash prize.
Rum Punch Contest begins
4:00 pm
Famous Gumbo Stroll ends
Shrimp Dinner Plate ends
Strand Merchant Walk-About ends
5:30 pm
Awards Ceremony
