Grant Seafood Festival: Dates, Map, Tickets & Insider Guide to Florida's Oldest Seafood Festival

Every plate at the Grant Seafood Festival is cooked by volunteers — the festival has been 100% volunteer-run since 1966.

Dates and hours

The Grant Seafood Festival runs one weekend a year at the Grant Community Center grounds, two miles south of our house.

Note for long-time visitors: the festival was historically held the first weekend of February for decades. It now runs the first weekend of March. Always confirm on grantseafoodfestival.com before booking travel.

What it is

The Grant Seafood Festival has been running since 1966 — the longest-running seafood festival on Florida's east coast, and it is 100% volunteer driven. No corporate midway, no beer-tent chains. The Grant Community Club serves fresh Florida seafood under 200-year-old live oaks, and all proceeds go straight back into the community: the Grant Seafood Festival Scholarship Fund, community projects, and children's programs.

For a town of about 1,000 people, the crowd is startling: attendance runs into the tens of thousands over the two days, drawn from Melbourne, Vero Beach, Orlando and every RV park between.

Where it is (location & map)

Event grounds: 4580 1st Street, Grant, Florida 32949 — the Grant Community Center, one block east of US-1 on the Indian River side of the tracks.

• · The organizers publish an official [festival map](https://www.grantseafoodfestival.com/s/Grant_Seafood_Festival_Map.pdf) and a [park & ride site map](https://www.grantseafoodfestival.com/s/Festival-Map-2026.pdf) — worth pulling up on your phone before you arrive, because the food row, the craft village and the community-service area are on three different sides of the community center.
• · Grant sits at the southern end of Brevard County: about 1.5 hours east of Orlando, 12 miles south of Melbourne, 22 miles north of Vero Beach.
• · Brightline crossings: there are three rail crossings in Grant. Never stop on the tracks — trains run fast and frequently through the festival weekend.

Driving directions

From the north (I-95): Exit 173 (Palm Bay/Malabar), go 0.4 mi, bear left on SR-514 E for 4.2 mi, right on US-1 for 5.8 mi, then follow the festival signs. Northbound US-1 traffic is routed off at Shell Pit Road toward festival parking.

From the south (I-95): Exit 156 (Fellsmere/Sebastian), right and 4 mi, bear left on Roseland Rd (CR-505) 4.7 mi, left on US-1 for 6.6 mi, then follow signs. Southbound US-1 traffic is directed onto Valkaria Road; continue west on Valkaria Road to the park & ride lot across from The Habitat golf course.

From Babcock Street: head south and turn onto Valkaria Road (from the north) or Grant Road (from the south), then follow the parking signs.

Parking and shuttles

Do not try to drive to the festival grounds. Park at Valkaria Airport and follow the signs to the shuttle pickup — shuttles run a continuous loop between the airport and the festival grounds.

• · Shuttle hours (2026 pattern): Saturday 10 a.m. – 8 p.m., Sunday 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
• · No overnight parking at any festival lot.
• · Staying with us? It's 2 miles down US-1 — a $8–$12 rideshare, or locals bike the paved shoulder on the cooler morning of the two.

How you pay: the ticket system

Food is bought with festival tickets, not cash at the booth.

• · Tickets are sold in batches of 10 — $10 minimum purchase.
• · Most food items cost 1–10 tickets.
• · Cash, credit and debit are all accepted at ticket booths, and tickets can also be bought at the Valkaria Airport parking site both days, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. — do that and you skip the first line of the day.
• · Buy a little more than you think you need; leftovers are easy to hand off, and re-queueing at 1 p.m. costs 20 minutes.
• · T-shirts and souvenirs (west side of the main grounds) take cash or credit card only.

What you can't bring

Straight from the organizers: no dogs or other pets (service dogs must wear a vest or collar), no coolers, no tents, canopies or pop-ups, no umbrellas, and no overnight parking. Bring a foldable chair, a hat and sunscreen instead.

What to eat (in the order locals eat it)

Every booth is staffed by volunteers — usually a Grant family that has worked the same station for three generations. Ticket counts vary year to year; treat these as the 2026 ballpark.

The move: fried mullet basket at 9:15 a.m. (five-minute line; by noon it's 45), split a crab cake and a chowder with your group, walk the craft village, then come back for shark bites and key lime pie around 2 p.m.

Arts & crafts village

Over 100 crafters from across the country exhibit handmade work across both days — Florida woodturners, painters, potters, jewelers, hand-poured candles, quilts, dune-grass wreaths. This is a juried handmade market, not an imported-goods flea market. Many booths still prefer cash.

Live entertainment

Continuous live music both days on the festival stages, booked from the region's best local talent — acoustic, folk, country and beach music. There is no seating provided, so bring a folding chair (chairs are fine; canopies and umbrellas are not).

Other things happening on the grounds

• · Community service exhibits — west end of the community center: local businesses, civic groups and nonprofits.
• · Grant Library book sale — on the front porch of the Community Center during festival hours. Hundreds of used hardcovers and paperbacks; proceeds buy new books for the volunteer-run library (it is not part of the Brevard County system).
• · Grant Historical House — closed during the festival. Worth a separate trip.
• · T-shirts & souvenirs — west side of the main grounds.

For families

• · Strollers work fine on the grass and hard-packed paths, slower after rain.
• · Air-conditioned break and changing space inside the Community Center.
• · Sunday is the family day: same food, noticeably thinner crowd.

Accessibility

Grass and hard-packed dirt throughout — wheelchair-passable but slow after rain. ADA porta-lets near the main food row, and the Community Center itself is accessible if you need AC and a seat.

Pro tips locals will actually tell you

1. Arrive at 9 a.m. Saturday — five-minute food lines instead of 45. 2. Buy tickets at the airport lot (10 a.m.–3 p.m.) before you board the shuttle. 3. Bring a folding chair — no seating at the stages, and no canopies allowed. 4. Sunday is quieter — same festival, far fewer people, best for strollers and wheelchairs. 5. Leave the cooler and the dog at home — both are turned away at the gate. 6. Buy a jar of smoked fish dip to take home. Best souvenir in Brevard County. 7. Watch the weather. The festival runs rain or shine; a wet Saturday means a perfect, empty Sunday. 8. Mind the Brightline crossings on the walk or drive in.

Where to stay

Everything within 15 miles books out for festival weekend months ahead — for the first weekend of March, book by the previous October. Grant-Valkaria has essentially no hotels, so vacation rentals are the answer. Sunrise on the River is 2 miles from the grounds, sleeps 8, dog friendly, with a private dock on the Indian River. See more on the annual events guide and things to do, the Grant-Valkaria area guide, the nearby Atlantic beaches, and — if you're making a fishing weekend of it — the best fishing spots at Sebastian Inlet and camping at Sebastian Inlet State Park.