2nd Annual Shrimp & Grits Festival

On Saturday, February 29, over 1,000 people packed the boardwalk for the inaugural Shrimp & Grits Festival along the Destin Harbor, celebrating one of the South’s most beloved dishes. The afternoon was filled with variations of the dish, by local restaurateurs and chefs from Fort Walton Beach to 30A, all competing to be crowned the best Shrimp & Grits on the Emerald Coast. The first year festival raised more than $20,000, with all the profits going to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Emerald Coast, a nonprofit devoted to “enhancing the development of boys and girls by instilling a sense of competence, usefulness, belonging and influence through its programs focused on academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles.”