ood Festival Committee, a group of volunteers are planning the big event for October, the headline entertainment act was announced and the official painting for the 2007 festival was unveiled.
The annual festival is the main fundraiser for the Richmond Hill-Bryan County Chamber of Commerce and is Richmond Hill’s largest-scale event. The past two years of the festival have garnered over 30,000 visitors to enjoy Southern style seafood delicacies, listen to live music, ride the rides of the carnival and enjoy the many other sights and sounds of event that is going into its ninth year. It will take place October 19-21.
Festival Chairman Janet Thayer announced to the group that the rock band Survivor will perform at the Festival. The band is most known for the number one hit "Eye of the Tiger", but the group had a slew of top-ten hits throughout the 1980’s, including "The Search is Over", "High on You" and "I Can’t Hold Back."
Past Seafood Festivals have included headliners such as Atlanta Rhythm Section, Gregg Allman and Friends and Eddie Money.
Starting last year, the Chamber has partnered with Arts on the Coast to designate an official painting for the event. Chamber Director Kittie Franklin said 100 prints are made of the annual winning painting and are sold at the event.
"This is huge at the event they had in my hometown in North Carolina," said Franklin. "They lined up to purchase the prints there, and the value greatly increased year after year for the limited prints. We are hoping to have that same impact with the ones here."
Local artist Rachel Cotton-Smith’s rendering of Mayor Richard Davis standing in front of the Ogeechee River and wetlands while holding a large platter of seafood was selected by the judge, a Savannah artist, as the winner.
"This is the first step of many as we prepare for this year’s festival," Franklin said. "All signs are pointing to the 2007 Seafood Festival to being the biggest and best one yet."