ShrimpFest and Craft Brew Hullabaloo — Sebastian, Florida

ShrimpFest is held each March at Riverview Park in Sebastian, and the 2026 edition ran Saturday, March 21 and Sunday, March 22, 2026.

The 2026 hours were 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday, with admission and parking free (Sebastian Daily, March 3, 2026). The City of Sebastian places the Shrimp Fest and Craft Brew Hullabaloo in mid-March on its yearly calendar, between the January fine arts festival and the May Lionfish Festival (City of Sebastian).

The March slot on the Sebastian riverfront has held steady since 2018, though the length and the name have changed. The table below lists the editions with published dates and the venue each one used, from the Fellsmere school grounds to Riverview Park.

The city's own events calendar carried the River Days Festival at Riverview Park on Sunday, March 16, 2025, from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM (City of Sebastian calendar). The Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce lists ShrimpFest under March in its festival guide (Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce). As of October 10, 2026, no date for a March 2027 ShrimpFest had been posted by the organizers.

ShrimpFest at Riverview Park combines shrimp dishes from food trucks with arts and crafts booths, live bands, a Kid Zone, a car show and two cooking contests.

The 2026 program listed arts and crafts, food trucks, a farmers market and a beer garden on both days, and a Kid Zone from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday (Sebastian Daily). Four bands split the Riverview Park stage across the weekend. Food trucks priced their shrimp plates at $15, from shrimp baskets and po boys to gumbo served over tater tots.

The contests give the Riverview Park weekend its home-cooked entries from Sebastian and nearby towns. The Best Chili in Town contest ran Saturday, March 21, 2026, from 2 to 4 p.m., paying $100 for first place and $50 for second. The Great Pie Contest followed on Sunday afternoon with $100 cash prizes for Most Delicious and Most Unique, and pie bakers had to enter before Saturday and check in by 1 p.m.

The car show is the Sunday morning draw on the Sebastian riverfront. Registration cost $15 per vehicle in 2026, with goodie bags for the first 50 cars, same-day drive-ins accepted until 10 a.m., and awards for Best in Show, Best Hot Rod, Best Classic Car and Fan Favorite presented at 1:30 p.m.

Earlier editions added other pieces. The 2025 River Days weekend at Riverview Park included a Sunday pancake breakfast at $10 per person cooked by Sebastian River High School culinary students, a farmers market and a display of boats and ATVs (Sebastian Daily, March 11, 2025).

The Craft Brew Hullabaloo is the Rotary Club of Sebastian's Florida craft beer tasting, which began inside ShrimpFest and since 2021 has also run as a separate December event at Riverview Park.

Inside the spring festival on the Sebastian riverfront, the tasting was a ticketed session. In 2018 the tasting ran Saturday, March 17, from 1 to 4 p.m., with tickets at $30 plus a fee (Sebastian Daily, February 15, 2018). By 2024 it ran Saturday, March 16, from 1 to 5 p.m. under the oaks, with over 25 breweries and home brewers giving demonstrations; advance tickets were $35 plus fees and day-of tickets $40 plus fees (Sebastian Daily, February 29, 2024).

The December event has a council vote behind it. At its July 14, 2021 meeting the Sebastian City Council approved a five-year agreement with the Rotary Club of Sebastian for an annual four-hour Brewfest at Riverview Park (Sebastian Daily, July 20, 2021). Under the deal the club handles cleanup and gives the City of Sebastian 25% of the proceeds for Riverview Park improvements, a list that includes the splash pad, overflow parking and the Veteran's Memorial. The first edition was set for Saturday, December 4, 2021.

The format has since loosened. The Craft Brew Hullabaloo on Saturday, December 6, 2025, the day of the Sebastian Christmas parade, showcased 25 Florida breweries with free admission, two of them Sebastian breweries, Pareidolia Brewing Company and Mash Monkeys Brewing Co. (Sebastian Daily, November 30, 2025). Proceeds went to the Sebastian Rotary Club Foundation, and a Toys for Tots drive ran at the event. The Sebastian River Area Chamber of Commerce now lists the Hullabaloo under December.

ShrimpFest began in Fellsmere, moved to Riverview Park in Sebastian for its third edition in 2018, ran as River Days from about 2023 to 2025, and returned to the ShrimpFest name in 2026.

The 2017 ShrimpFest and Craft Brew Hullabaloo took place on the grounds of the Old Historic School House at 22 S. Orange Street in downtown Fellsmere, on February 25 and 26, 2017 (Sebastian Daily, February 22, 2017). The festival then crossed to the Sebastian riverfront. Vero News reported that the third annual event in March 2018 was a joint presentation of the Rotary Club of Sebastian and the Exchange Club of Fellsmere, moved that year from the Historic Fellsmere School to Riverview Park (Vero News, March 22, 2018).

The 2018 numbers set the scale for the Riverview Park era. About 300 volunteers helped serve roughly 4,000 pounds of Florida shrimp to an estimated 15,000 people, five local restaurants competed for a Golden Shrimp Award, and nearly 90 vendors set up in the park, with a motorcycle show on Saturday and a car show on Sunday.

In 2022 the three-day ShrimpFest and Craft Brew Hullabaloo again filled Riverview Park, with Sebastian River High School culinary students cooking shrimp boil and shrimp pizza at the Rotary Restaurant and 20 Florida craft beers on tap (Vero News, April 7, 2022). The River Days name followed; the 2024 festival was billed as the 2nd Annual River Days and Craft Brew Hullabaloo, which places the first River Days in 2023. The 2026 announcement used ShrimpFest again and cut the festival to two days.

ShrimpFest is hosted by the Rotary Club of Sebastian Recreational Foundation and the City of Sebastian, and its proceeds support youth sports and organizations in North Indian River County.

The beneficiary list is specific. For the 2024 River Days, the named beneficiaries were Sebastian River High School cheer, wrestling, track and field, girls basketball, football, lacrosse, culinary arts and Interact club, along with the Sebastian Sharks Youth Football and Cheerleading Association (Sebastian Daily). In 2018 the list included the Boys and Girls Clubs of Sebastian and Fellsmere and Treasure Coast Rugby (Vero News).

Public money also sits behind the riverfront festivals. The Sebastian Community Redevelopment Agency lists continued financial support since 2000 for Riverfront District events that bring revenue to local businesses, naming the Clam Bake, Shrimpfest, the Concerts in the Park series and the Fine Art Festival (City of Sebastian CRA). The city describes Riverview Park, at 600 U.S. Highway 1 on the corner of C.R. 512/Sebastian Boulevard, as its primary event and gathering point, and names Shrimpfest and Craft Brew Hullabaloo among the park's major annual events (City of Sebastian).

The Rotary Club of Sebastian has served North Indian River County for more than 30 years, according to the 2026 festival announcement (Sebastian Daily). Its December Hullabaloo and March ShrimpFest are the club's two largest public fundraisers on the Sebastian waterfront.