Thousands Expected on Jekyll Island, Ga. for the Country’s Only Celebration Dedicated to Iconic Southern Dish: Shrimp & Grits

Wild Georgia Shrimp Festival

JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga., Sept. 3 /PRNewswire/ — What was once a sim­ple food pair­ing deeply rooted in the South, Shrimp & Grits has become a menu-must for exclu­sive restau­rants across the coun­try. The only event in the coun­try ded­i­cated to this quin­tes­sen­tial Southern dish kicks off Sept 18: “Shrimp & Grits: The Wild Georgia Shrimp Festival.”

Set in the Jekyll Island Club Hotel’s land­mark his­toric dis­trict, the pop­u­lar fes­ti­val boasts ama­teur and pro­fes­sional cook­ing com­pe­ti­tions, shrimp boat excur­sions, shrimp eat­ing con­tests, cook­ing demon­stra­tions, races, enter­tain­ment, and much more.

“The Jekyll Island Shrimp & Grits Festival is a great time to enjoy the beauty of Jekyll Island while din­ing on deli­cious coastal cui­sine caught right off the Georgia coast,” said Beth Burnsed, Director of Special Events for Jekyll Island. “We began the Shrimp & Grits Festival as a way to show­case Jekyll Island and Wild Georgia Shrimp. As more and more restau­rants began serv­ing shrimp & grits, we real­ized that we were at the fore­front of a grow­ing trend. We are thrilled to host such a promi­nent and highly antic­i­pated sig­na­ture event.”

In cel­e­bra­tion, September has been declared “Wild Georgia Shrimp Month” on Jekyll Island and the neigh­bor­ing Golden Isles, and some of the South’s finest pro­fes­sional and ama­teur chefs will be com­pet­ing for the cov­eted title of “Best Shrimp & Grits” recipe in the coun­try. “Y’all Come!”

Set amid Jekyll Island’s pic­turesque Jekyll Island Club National Landmark Historic District, the fes­ti­val will kick off on Friday, September 18th at 5:30 p.m. with a “$3 Shrimp Sample Night,” where par­tic­i­pants will have the oppor­tu­nity to taste recipes from ven­dors through­out the region.

On Saturday guests will have the oppor­tu­nity to enjoy the Amateur Cooking Competition, which offers mouth-watering oppor­tu­ni­ties to taste and judge ten shrimp & grits dishes pre­pared by aspir­ing and self-taught cooks through­out the region. Festivities con­tinue on Sunday when the win­ner of the Professional Cooking Competition will be announced in the afternoon.

Visitors can pur­chase VIP tick­ets in advance or learn more about the week­end fes­tiv­i­ties by vis­it­ing: www.jekyllisland.com/shrimpandgrits.

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