Richmond Hill Convention & Visitor Bureau

Tickets are available now for the 23rd annual Great Ogeechee Seafood Festival, October 14-16, 2022, at the beautiful J.F. Gregory Park in Richmond Hill, just south of Savannah.

“Our hope is that people come to the Great Ogeechee Seafood Festival and taste a little bit of why so many people call Bryan County home - from good food - to a community who cares,” says Kathryn Johnson, CEO of the Richmond Hill Bryan County Chamber of Commerce, who produces the festival.

Connie Watson of K+C Catering shares, “We do our low country boil, famous crab soup, gumbo, jumbo shrimp and fries, garlic steamed shrimp, and jumbo fried chicken wings.” She describes how much inspiration she gets from being at the festival, seeing many of her clients and meeting new people: “We like seeing our customers enjoying our meal and appreciating our food that we cook. They say they look forward to seeing us because we don’t have a restaurant.”

Mark Thomas, owner of Bubba’s Bistro explains, “We do shrimp and grits, kind of our thing. We use stone ground yellow grits from South Carolina. Then we do a cream-based tasso gravy on top. We do a low country boil with Savannah red rice.”

And for those not so focused on seafood, Thomas says you can “still get yummy and creative dishes.” Eventgoers can enjoy the Bistro’s Redneck Nachos, made with jalapeño cheese, pulled pork, scallions, BBQ sauce and smoked gouda atop.

FRIDAY

At 10 am, before the festival begins, Special Needs Day offers a registration-based opportunity for children to experience slowed down and quieter rides, shorter lines, and lunch by our local McDonald’s. Beginning at 5:30 pm, check out Local Musicians’ Night! It’s a chance to groove with performing artists and bands selected by the Seafood Festival committee.

Legendary 1990s country music stars Deana Carter and John Michael Montgomery, along with upcoming stars Maggie Baugh and Warren Zeiders, will rock the festival Saturday night, beginning at 5 p.m. A schedule of events, including times of performances, can be found here.

Sunday features civic organizations and local bands leading performances, such as cheerleading, dance competitions, a military band, and a gospel band. Each genre brings a new perspective.

“I think Sundays are the unspoken day out there. We take our five kids and we always go on Sundays,” shares Thomas. “It’s a lighter groove. You’ve got everything from dance competition studios, and then it switches to the military band, and that draws a different crowd. Younger kids are going to the carnival during the day. As they stack the music up, the event becomes like a big giant backyard party.”

23rd Annual Great Ogeechee Seafood Festival