KURE BEACH — The 23rd annual Pleasure Island Seafood and Jazz Festival kicks off this Sunday for the first Spring showing in its history. Typically held in the fall, the event was forced to reschedule due to Hurricane Matthew’s arrival in October 2016.
According to Greg Reynolds, of the Pleasure Island Chamber of Commerce, the event draws thousands of people from all over the state to the shores of Kure Beach. People converge on the Fort Fisher Recreation Area, right on the banks of the Cape Fear River, for a day of non-stop music, and all the local seafood you can eat.
“The event itself was started by the Air Force Base,” Reynolds said. “But after a year or two it really started to take off, they decided to hand it over to the Pleasure Island Chamber of Commerce to handle.”
Reynolds says it’s grown every year since.
“Normally this a two-day event, but we had to compromise after rescheduling because of the Hurricane,” Reynolds said. “We’re expecting a little bit of a smaller crowd since it’s just on Sunday this year, but we still expect about 2,000 – 3,500 people to show up.”
According to the Pleasure Island Chamber of Commerce’s website, the festival will include an “arts and wine garden, shopping in the crafters’ village, fine wine tasting along with fresh local seafood and live music.”
Family friendly activities will be going on throughout the day, ranging from bounce houses and face painting stations to laser tag and magic shows. But according to Reynolds, what folks really come out for is the food, and of course the music.
“The main draw is the incredible music,” Reynolds said. “If you like jazz, we have six amazing bands for you to check out, and on the other stage, we have some incredible blues musicians.
“Not to mention, this is the only place you can legally drink on Sunday at 10 a.m.,” Reynolds said, referring to the fact that the festival is held on federal property, so it’s not against any North Carolina laws for the event to serve alcohol before noon.
“Not that we’re advocating drinking, but you can come out and get your bloody Mary right when you walk in if you want to,” he said.
Headlined by Johnny Lang and Samantha Fish, the event starts at 10 a.m., Sunday, April 23, with artists alternating on the two main stages. Samantha Fish comes on at 6:30 p.m., followed by Johnny Lang at 9 p.m. For a complete list of artists, visit the event website here.
The forecast for Sunday calls for a small chance of rain, but Reynolds assured that the Chamber of Commerce is watching the weather hour by hour.
“They’re (The Weather Channel) calling for less than a tenth of an inch of rain, so we’re not too worried,” he said.
The Pleasure Island Seafood and Jazz Festival will return in October of 2017 for it’s normal slot in the fall festival lineup.
