Cortez’s biggest bash is poised for a comeback.
On Jan. 3, the Florida Institute for Saltwater Heritage held its fourth meeting in preparation for the 2022 Cortez Commercial Fishing Festival.
The Feb. 19-20 event, a celebration of Florida’s commercial seafood industry, will feature live music, adult beverages, specialty seafood dishes — including stone crab, shrimp and fried mullet — local art and attractions for kids.
FISH, a nonprofit dedicated to maintaining Cortez’s commercial fishing legacy, organizes the festival, now in its 40th year.
“It truly is a party with a purpose because it supports a community’s way of life and the environment on which it depends,” FISH treasurer Jane von Hahmann said Jan. 3.
At the planning meeting Jan. 3, FISH members discussed cost increases and a need for volunteers.
Due in part to the pandemic, the cost of chairs, tables and other items rose about 25%, von Hahmann said.
The festival is FISH’s No. 1 revenue source and proceeds usually fund the organization’s annual budget.
In 2021, FISH canceled the event due to the pandemic.
The motto for this year’s festival is “gearing up,” an allusion to the organization’s excitement about the return of the event couched in a commercial fishing term for readying one’s equipment.
“We’re excited to be back. I think we’re going to have a fantastic turnout. I think people are just ready, you know?” von Hahmann said.
The festival will take place along 119th Street West south of Cortez Road in Cortez.
To volunteer for the event, email Angela Collins at abcollins@ufl.edu.
Making inroads
Following the planning meeting Jan. 3, the FISH board held its monthly conference.
Former FISH president and landscape designer Allen Garner told the board his team of volunteers completed a shell path within the 100-acre FISH Preserve east of the fishing village.
The nonprofit has been restoring the preserve to its natural state and building small bridges over low lands and paths for pedestrians and bicyclists since 2004.
Garner and his crew began the $15,000 shell walkway project, funded by the Manatee Fish and Game Association, in November.
They laid about 1,250 feet of trail comprising compacted seashell in the center of the preserve.
For more on FISH, call 941-301-4000 or visit cortez-fish.org.