4th Annual Storms and Seafood in Westport starts Jan. 29
Published 1:30 am Tuesday, January 13, 2026
The 4th Annual Storms and Seafood event is set for Jan. 29 through Feb. 2 in Westport. Fifteen South Beach area restaurants, four markets and two museums are participating. Events kick off with poetry readings featuring fisherpoet Jon Brandshaw and friends at the LOGE on Friday, Jan. 29 at 6:30 p.m.
The event will also include a Brady’s Oyster Farm tour, Merino’s Seafood crab cracking demonstration, lectures from local fishermen, and, if Mother Nature cooperates, some wild weather at the height of storm season.
John Shaw, the executive director of the Westport South Beach Historical Society, says Storms & Seafood is a wintertime reminder of the year-round Westport’s Fresh Catch initiative regarding seafood specific to Westport.
“Westport’s Fresh Catch is a group of businesses and industry that focus on the availability of fresh seafood uniquely in Westport,” Shaw said after last year’s event. “Storms & Seafood attracts people to storm watching, beachcombing and also experience the seafood restaurants. People can come and see what it’s like in a dynamic coastal town during the winter season and come to a real working port with a real working seafood industry. That’s just part of sharing who we are along the coast.”
Complete schedule:
Friday
6:30 p.m. – Local Readings featuring Jon Brandshaw and friends at LOGE Westport
Saturday
9:30 to 11 a.m. – TUNA TIME at Westport Maritime Museum McCausland Hall
9:30 a.m. – Tuna Filleting Demo with John Galvich
10 a.m. – Tuna Canning with Lisa Benn
11 a.m. – Brady’s Oyster Tour and Shucking Demo at Brady’s Oysters
2 p.m. – How to Shake a Crab at Merino’s Seafood Market
7 p.m. – After the Catch: Fireside Chat with the Legends at Westport Winery
Sunday
9:30 a.m. – Shellfish Health and Commercial Fishing Overview Saltwater Sips Cafe
11 a.m. – Brady’s Oyster Tour & Shucking Demo
12 p.m. – Basket Drawing at Derby Booth
2 p.m. – How to Shake a Crab at Merino’s
3 p.m. – Westport’s Tsunami Tower @ McCausland Hall
PLUS: Restaurants, seafood markets and local businesses with special offerings all weekend long.
