Prepare Your Taste Buds! Outer Banks Seafood festival on Oct. 17th

Celebrating its fourth year! The Outer Banks Seafood festival will once again take place this October at The soundside event site in Nags Head, NC. An event dedicated to celebrating fresh, locally-caught seafood as well as the Outer Banks' rich maritime history that dates back well over a hundred years.

Many of coastal North Carolina's first year-round residents were full-time fisherman, and the fishing industry still remains one of the leading occupations for residents of the obx.

Each year the Outer Banks Seafood Festival has grown in size, and there is simply no reason to believe this year won't be the biggest one in terms of attendance yet.

Restaurants from the remote island of Ocracoke to the northern beaches of corolla where the wild horses roam will be on-site at the event, serving up some of their most tantalizing seafood offerings that you'd find on their restaurant's daily menu.

In addition to a plethora of food offerings, there will also be plenty of local craft beer establishments serving up some tasty brews made right here on these barrier islands. The Outer Banks Brewing Station, Weeping Radish Brewery, and Full Moon Café and Brewery are all set to appear at this year's Seafood Festival.

Tickets to the event are only a couple bucks and a portion of the proceeds will go towards Outer Banks Catch, an organization dedicated to promoting and educating seafood lovers about the numerous advantages of requesting seafood offerings that are both in-season and locally-caught.

Tickets can be purchased online via the Outer Banks Seafood Festival's website or in-person on the day of the event. General admission tickets are $3 and children under the age of 12 are admitted free if they are accompanied by a paying adult.

Apart from the great food and drink, there will be live music from local Outer Banks bands throughout the day as well as interesting and unique games for kids all ages. Representatives from Outer Banks Catch will be on-site, answering all of your questions about where and how to buy local seafood and how to help support the fine male and female anglers who catch fish, shrimp, oysters and clams for a living.

Outer Banks Seafood Festival Parking

Please note, there is no on-site parking! Free shuttle service will be provided to and from the Festival. Here's a list of the FREE shuttle and off-site parking locations:

Whalebone Park:
In the 7200 block of S. Virginia Dare Trail, across from Jennette's Pier, Nags Head, 10:30am – 7:00pm.

Nags Head Elementary School/Dowdys:
3100 S. Wrightsville Ave. Nags Head, 10:30am – 8:00pm (starting at 6:00am for volunteers and vendors) * This lot should be used for all handicap parking

Nags Head Town Hall:
5401 S. Croatan Hwy. Nags Head, 10:30am – 7:00pm.

Dare County Government Center:
954 Marshall C. Collins Street, Manteo, 8:00am – 7:00pm.

Shuttles will run approximately every half hour or less. More info on parking at the 2015 Outer Banks Seafood Festival can be found on the event website.

The 2015 Outer Banks Seafood Festival is presented by TowneBank and the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau. This year's event will be held on Saturday, October 17th at The Soundside event site in Nags Head. The Soundside, formerly known as the Outer Banks Event Site, has undergone an extensive redesign and enhancement in recent months and looks forward to welcoming guests of the Seafood Festival.

For more information about the Festival, visit outerbanksseafoodfestival.org. And if you're looking for a rundown of other spectacular upcoming event this fall on the Outer Banks, be sure to check out this recent blog post.