Love seafood? Also love supporting a worthy cause? If you answered yes to both of those questions, then the 2026 Virginia Beach Seafood Festival is a can’t-miss event for you.
While the festival is aimed at bringing together seafood lovers from Coastal Virginia and throughout the Commonwealth to sample some of the region’s top delicacies, it also helps raise money for the Virginia Gentlemen Foundation, a Virginia Beach nonprofit.
Here’s your guide to having a fantastic time at the 2026 Virginia Beach Seafood Festival.
Location & time
Presented by Coastal Virginia Magazine, the festival will be held at the State Military Reservation at 1293 S Birdneck Rd., Virginia Beach, from 12 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 24. Those with a VIP ticket can enter at 11 a.m.
Menu
The festival menu includes a range of food and beverage options.
Food
Even though this year’s food vendors haven’t been announced yet, the offerings should be quite tasty if the roster of previous vendors is any indication. Previous vendors include Captain George’s Seafood Restaurant, Coastal Grill, Giardino Ristorante, and Tulu Seaside Bar & Grill.
Beverages
Various beer and seltzer vendors will be on-site.
The specialty drink options will include orange crush, Bloody Mary, and Old Fashioned.
While the beverage vendors for this year’s festival haven’t been announced yet, previous vendors ranged from Hoffman Beverage and Chesapeake Bay Distillery to Coastal Cocktails and Afterglow Brewing.
Entertainment
While the focus of the festival is obviously seafood, there will also be live entertainment to keep the good vibes going.
Check out the live music while your little ones enjoy the children’s entertainment zone. Kids will surely enjoy the face painting.
Be sure to also cast your ballot for the People’s Choice for Best Dish.
Virginia Gentlemen Foundation
The festival helps raise money for the Virginia Gentlemen Foundation, an organization that’s focused on making life in Coastal Virginia more accessible for those with disabilities and curing ALS.
It was established in 2007 when a group of young men from Virginia Beach decided to work together to give back to the community, focusing on helping families impacted by disabilities.
For example, the organization has worked to increase accessibility throughout the area by installing ramps into buildings and benches near sidewalks.
Camp Grom, a 70-acre beach-style adventure where wounded veterans, families of deceased service members, and those with differing ability levels can come together for outdoor fun, like an alpine climbing tower, kayaking, archery, and swimming, is a standout example of the nonprofit’s work.
Virginia Beach residents may also know Grommet Island Park, a 15,000-square-foot beach park with wheelchair-accessible entrances and a playground accessible to everyone.
The first Virginia Beach Seafood Festival in 2023 featured more than 20 local food vendors and raised over $300,000. To date, the organization has raised over $3 million to fight ALS.
Tickets
Get your ticket by Sept. 20 for the early bird discount. The $44.35 ticket comes with five food and beverage tickets. After the early bird discount, general admission tickets increase to $50.
Military members, first responders, and educators get a discounted ticket, including five food and beverage tickets, at $28.29.
If you’re a big seafood fan, consider going for the $108.55 VIP ticket, which offers early access at 11 a.m. and 10 food and beverage tickets.
Seafood lovers should also consider entering for a chance to become an Official Guest Food Critic for $6.89. One winner will be selected five days before the festival to participate in samplings and help select the Best Dish of the Festival honor.
Tickets for children ages 4 to 12 are $12.24, and children under 4 are free when accompanied by a paying adult.
Additional tickets range from $2.50 for soft drinks and water to $5 for beer, wine, seltzers, and most food vendors. However, some food vendors and liquors require two tickets, which total $10.
If you can’t make it
If you can’t make it to the Virginia Beach Seafood Festival this year, there are still some excellent events coming up in the area this fall focused on seafood.
44th Annual Poquoson Seafood Festival
Dates: Oct. 16-18
Location: 51 Odd Rd., Poquoson, VA 23662
Held at Poquoson Municipal Park, the 44th Annual Poquoson Seafood Festival is a celebration of the bounty of the Chesapeake Bay. Enjoy the best crab cakes, shrimp, oysters, clams, clam chowder, soft-shell crabs, catfish, and shecrab soup that Coastal Virginia has to offer.
The festival will also include various activities, entertainment, and arts and crafts shows.
Hours are 4 to 9 p.m. on Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free, but parking costs $10 in cash.
10th Annual Give A Shuck Oyster Roast
Date: Sunday, Oct. 18
Location: 4408 Shore Dr., Virginia Beach, VA 23455
Help support the Little Neck Circle of the King’s Daughters’ 2026 Annual Giving campaign to provide holiday gifts to local families and various other local charities while enjoying some tasty oysters by attending the 10th Annual Give A Shuck Oyster Roast at Leaping Lizard Café from 4 to 8 p.m.
In addition to oysters, a full dinner will be served by Malbon’s BBQ. Wash down your meal with some wine or beer while listening to music from the Tiki Bar Band.
Early bird tickets are $65, while advance tickets are $75, and tickets at the door are $85. Tickets for children 5 to 12 are $25, while those under 5 get in for free. Attendees are also encouraged to bring a new stuffed animal for the CHKD mobile ICU ambulance unit.
Urbanna Oyster Festival
Dates: Friday, Nov. 6 & Saturday, Nov. 7
Location: 51 Cross St., Ste. 200, Urbanna, VA 23175
This year marks the 69th Annual Urbanna Oyster Festival, one of the oldest festivals in the world dedicated to scrumptious shellfish. Over 50,000 people flock to Urbanna, a town of only 500, for the event.
The festival also features live music, parades, and plenty of other vendors.
Entry is free, but you pay for food and drinks as you go. Parking costs $20 per day.
The festival is open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Calypso’s 15th Annual Oyster Roast
Date: Saturday, Nov. 7
Location: 1101 Atlantic Ave., Virginia Beach, VA 23451
Head to Calypso’s Bar & Grill for its 15th Annual Oyster Roast from 12 to 5 p.m.
The day will feature oysters, other tasty treats like pork barbecue and southern fixings, live music, cold drinks, and plenty of company against the great backdrop of the Oceanfront. The event supports different causes each year, and this year’s funds go to the Virginia Beach Jaycees.
Tickets are $77 in advance or $88 at the door. Designated driver tickets for those 21 and over are available for $55.
This article first appeared on Good Info News Wire and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
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