Santa Barbara Channel’s bounty and the commercial fishermen who harvest it will be celebrated at the 21st Annual Santa Barbara Harbor & Seafood Festival, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19.

The free event, timed to coincide with the opening of lobster season, offers visitors an interactive day, reminding all that Santa Barbara Harbor is a working harbor, where more than 100 commercial fishermen land millions of pounds of seafood each year, adding $30 million to the local economy and beyond.

The festival will showcase fresh, regional seafood; live music from Juan Dolor, Spencer the Gardner, and Cornerstone; maritime education; free boat rides; children’s activities, vessel tours; and merchant items.

Visitors can meet anglers; select local fresh-caught lobster, crab, and sea urchin “uni.” Specialty food booths will feature fish tacos, oysters, mussels, barbecued albacore, clam chowder, and seafood paella.

There will be free vessel tours aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Blackfin, and the Tall Ship Mystic Whaler, as well as harbor boat rides aboard Celebration Cruises’ Azures Seas and Whisper, and SunSwept Sailing’s Kelpie.
 
The Santa Barbara Harbor & Seafood Festival is presented by the Santa Barbara Waterfront Department, Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara, Inc., and the Santa Barbara Harbor Merchants’ Association, along with various community partners and volunteers.
 
For additional event details and schedule, visit Santa Barbara Harbor & Seafood Festival – HarborFestival.org.