Join The Fun at The 2018 Steinhatchee Fiddler Crab Festival, February 16-18

If you’re looking for a fun event in the middle of what can be a (not necessarily cold) cool February weekend, take a ride to Natural North Florida’s Gulf coast and the fishing village of Steinhatchee.   The name, Steinhatchee, is derived from the Native Timicua name, Esteenhatchee, which means “River of Life”.  And Steinhatchee certainly lives up to that “lively” name, especially during the annual Fiddler Crab* Festival.  

One of the highlights of the festival is the parade along Riverside Drive.  It starts at Roy’s Restaurant and ends at Fiddler’s Restaurant, two of Steinhatchee’s famous eateries.  Other highlights include a car and boat show, good food, as well as lots of great music and of course, fiddler crab races!

Kathi’s Krab Shack is also another of Steinhatchee’s favorite eateries!

Be sure to bring some extra cash (or credit cards!) as there are plenty of vendors selling arts, crafts–and delicious food!

*….and about those fiddler crabs!

Here’s Wikipedia‘s take on the small crabs that are found along the shallow shoreline at Steinhatchee and countless other areas, world-wide”

“A fiddler crab, sometimes known as a calling crab, may be any of approximately 100 species of semi-terrestrial marine crabs which make up the genus Uca.^[1] As members of the family Ocypodidae, fiddler crabs are most closely related to the ghost crabs of the genus Ocypode. This entire group is composed of small crabs – the largest being slightly over two inches across. Fiddler crabs are found along sea beaches and brackish inter-tidal mud flats, lagoons and swamps. Fiddler crabs are most well known for their sexually dimorphic claws; the males’ major claw is much larger than the minor claw while the females’ claws are both the same size.”