It's good to be king: Biloxi Seafood Fest set for this weekend

There is no shortage of discussions right now regarding the safety of the Gulf Coast's seafood due to the summer's oil spill, but the organizers of this weekend's Biloxi Seafood Festival are confident that not only is the seafood good to eat, it's more than worthy of its own coastal event. "We really pride ourselves on letting people know that Biloxi is open for business, and seafood is king here," said Rachael Seymour, director of the Biloxi Chamber of Commerce. For the 29th year, the festival will try to drive those ideas home to tens of thousands of visitors Saturday and Sunday with a variety of draws that include live music, a gumbo cook-off, children's contests and events and $20,000 in door prizes drawn every hour throughout the event's two days. The festival is the primary fundraiser for the Biloxi Chamber of Commerce's program of work, and organizers hope it rebounds after last year's event, which was basically a rainout. "We have education programs, we do business grants, scholarships, and we have a junior leadership program," Seymour said. "The money does fund the chamber's entire program for the year, which, in turn, gets reinvested in the community." In 2009, that reinvestment included $15,000 in grants and $20,000 in scholarships, which included investments from the Chamber's business partners, she said. A majority of this year's festival was funded by a $95,000 grant the chamber received from the Harrison County Tourism Bureau, which was part of $3 million given to Gulf Coast tourism groups by BP PLC in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. "The importance of the seafood industry and the heritage of that industry in Biloxi is incredible," Seymour said. "It's made Biloxi what it is, and we don't want to forget that cultural part of our heritage." For the Biloxi Seafood Festival's complete entertainment schedule, visit www.biloxi.org. For more about the festival's musical acts, read Thursday's BW entertainment guide in The Mississippi Press.

For a story about the Mississippi Gulf Coast's Fall Festival that is in the works, go to: http://visitmscoast.xanga.com/