Coastal Companion

Your ultimate guide to the coast

Great Southern Tailgate Cookoff in Amelia Island, Florida

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The Amelia Island Convention & Visitors Bureau (AICVB) has opened the entry process for The First Annual Great Southern Tailgate Cookoff, scheduled for August 27-28.  Interested teams can register to participate in the barbeque competition until August 13, with a $50 discount for all entries submitted before June 1.

The Great Southern Tailgate Cookoff will be held at Main Beach on Amelia Island, and include entries on both the professional and amateur level. Teams will compete for more than $20,000 in prize money and trophies. The Great Southern Tailgate Cookoff is a Kansas City Barbeque Society sanctioned event and will serve as a Florida State Championship contest.

The cost to participate is $100 per Backyard (amateur) team and $250 for each Professional team.  Contestants can also enter a best sauce, dessert, and seafood category for an additional $25.  The event will also be kicking off football season and will include a “Best Decorated” Team Booth.

To register, or for more information about the Great Southern Tailgate Cookoff, visitwww.gstailgatecookoff.com.

Beaufort Shrimp Festival 2009

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The 15th Annual Beaufort Shrimp Festival takes place on Friday, October 2 and Saturday, October 3, 2009 at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, Beaufort, SC.

This is the perfect place to visit to try samples of Lowcountry dishes featuring shrimp. The festival also features a cooking competition, where prizes are awarded for “best recipe” and “most creative recipe” honors.

The event kicks off with a Friday evening concert in the park where they say you can “dance your shrimp tails off”. Enjoy live entertainment and sample delicious shrimp dishes. Lighted shrimp boats will provide a festive atmosphere to the event.

Saturday’s begins with a 5k Run over Woods Memorial Bridge, and a 5k “Walk through History” in the historic Old Point neighborhood in Beaufort. This is a great way to work up a healthy appetite!

You want to have room for all the shrimp specialties restaurants will serve. This is probably why this event is one of the most popular on the coast. Saturday also include a servers’ race, arts & crafts, live entertainment, the “Popcorn Shrimp Race” for kids and more.

Tickets for food & drink = $1 each which sounds like a great deal.

For more information visit www.beaufortshrimpfestival.com

Beaufort-Shrimp-Festival

City of St. Augustine Celebrating 444 Years of Age

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You know you are getting old when the candles cost more than the cake. When it comes to the city of St Augustine the saying rings true, because on Labor Day Weekend the old city is celebrating its 444th Birthday.

This celebration starts already on Thursday, September 3 and continues through Saturday, September 5. This is one of the best times to visit the Old City.

The celebration commemorates St. Augustine’s standing as the longest continually inhabited city founded by Europeans in what is now the United States – making it the Nation’s Oldest City.

Celebrating Those Who Were Already Here
Thursday, September 3 and Friday, September 4
9:00am – 5:00pm
The celebration kicks off on Thursday September 3rd in the Native American village of Seloy, which is what we call “the Fountain of Youth Archeological Park”.Re-enactors will take over and demonstrate how the natives lived. These inhabitants, the Timucua, lived in the area 500 years prior to the Spanish 1565 settlement. Admission is free.

Landing Reenactment & Celebration of Mass
Saturday, September 5 at 9:30am
Mission Nombre de Dios

At 9.00 am there’s a re-enactment of the landing by the city’s founder, Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles. The landing will take place at the Mission of Nombre de Dios, which is the exact landing point of the Spanish colonists in 1565. The landing will be followed, as it was 444 years ago, with a celebration of Mass at an outdoor wooden altar by the water’s edge at the Mission Nombre de Dios.

In the evening it’s time for a Cooking Contest, but this is not your regular contest. Here it’s a matter of cooking the tastiest 16th century style food. You can purchase authentic 16th Century dinners and enjoy period music and dancing. This takes place in the Fountain of Youth Park from 6 pm – 9 pm.

All activities surrounding the St. Augustine 444th Birthday are free and within convenient walking distance from the Visitor Information Center and adjacent parking facility.

For directions and more information on the Visitor Information Center call 904.825.1000 or 800.653.2489, or visit www.staugustinesbirthday.com

staugustine-flagler

Top Chefs Come to Jacksonville, Florida

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Two of the Bravo Channels Top Chef’testants from the popular show Top Chef are coming to Jacksonville for an exclusive cooking demonstration. The two chefs are Richard Blais and Sandee Birdsong.
This will take place at Hemming Plaza, 117 W Duval Street, Jacksonville.

Look for the big trailer!
Thursday April 9 at 10.30 am, 12.00 and 1.30 pm
Top Chef

Paula Deen Headlines the Savannah Book Festival’s Sunday Brunch on Telfair Square

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Tickets to the Savannah Book Festival’s closing event, Brunch on the Square with Paula Deen, are going paula-deenfast. Savannah’s own culinary celebrity – Paula Deen – headlines this event, which will take place on Sunday, February 8, 2009 at 12 noon on Telfair Square. After the brunch, Paula will sign books for her fans.

Tickets for this event are available now at www.scadboxoffice.com, or by calling 912-525-5050. Service charges apply. All proceeds benefit the Savannah Book Festival.

For more information visit www.savannahbookfestival.org

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