41st Annual Charlestown Seafood Festival

41st Annual Charlestown Seafood Festival Returns to Ninigret Park August 7-9 in Charlestown, Rhode Island
It’s 3 Full Days of Non-Stop Entertainment Featuring Dirty Deeds, Fireworks, Carnival Rides, A Classic Car Show & A Gastronomic Extravaganza of The BEST Seafood - New Vendors Include Newport Chowder Company & Roy Boys Clam Shack!
CHARLESTOWN, RI (June 25, 2026) - Save the date! The Charlestown Seafood Festival - named a “Top 100 Event in North America” and listed as one of 10 Best Summer Seafood Festivals in the Northeast - is thrilled to announce that the 41st Annual Charlestown Seafood Festival will be held this summer on August 7, 8 & 9, 2026 at Charlestown’s Ninigret Park in Rhode Island.
The Charlestown Seafood Festival is the biggest fundraiser for the Charlestown Chamber of Commerce. The funds raised by The Charlestown Seafood Festival are vital to the Chamber’s mission to support local businesses and boost tourism.
"We are excited to welcome everyone back to the 41st Annual Charlestown Seafood Festival," said Heather Paliotta, Executive Director of the Charlestown Chamber of Commerce and Director of The Charlestown Seafood Festival. "Each year we look forward to bringing together the very best seafood, live entertainment, family activities and summertime fun that have made this event a Rhode Island tradition for more than four decades. We are especially excited to welcome several new food vendors this year, including Newport Chowder Company, the 401 Oyster Seafood Truck and Roy Boys Clam Shack, while continuing to feature many of the longtime favorites our guests return for year after year. Whether you come for the seafood, the music, the fireworks, the carnival or the community atmosphere, there is truly something for everyone at the Charlestown Seafood Festival."
The Charlestown Seafood Festival is a three-day event which attracts tens of thousands of visitors. Those interested in becoming a festival sponsor or a commercial vendor at the festival should contact Kimberly Poland at 401-743-7272 or email sponsorships@polandmediagroup.com. Sponsorship information, as well as vendor forms and details about the event are all listed on the festival’s website.
More About The 41st Annual Charlestown Seafood Festival
This year’s event marks the 41st anniversary of the Charlestown Seafood Festival. This family- and community-oriented “seafood extravaganza” is well renowned as the area’s one and only “original seafood festival.” We proudly invite everyone to come on down and partake in the various dining opportunities, the great musical entertainment, fireworks, a classic car show, amusements, onsite camping, crafters and much, much more.
Rhode Islanders have long appreciated their closeness and connection to the Atlantic Ocean, Narragansett Bay, Block Island Sound, the coastal salt ponds and beautiful estuaries of Southern Rhode Island. We’re proud of our vibrant maritime roots and culture. The seafood industry, seafood dining and all our coastal resources are an integral part of who we are and what we do. To be a resident of Rhode Island - “An Ocean-Stater” - is truly a state of mind and an experience to behold.
A true Rhode Island experience, the Charlestown Seafood Festival, is proud to offer patrons the opportunity to dine on some of the freshest and most delicious native seafood from around the region. Each year this festival brings together a plethora of seafood harvesters and vendors, aquaculture growers, restaurateurs and concessionaires from up and down the East Coast.
Returning festival favorites include Kenyon’s Grist Mill, Matunuck Oyster Bar, the 401 Oyster Company Oyster Bar, Chili Bros Seafood, Cousins Maine Lobster, Laughing Crab Catering and many other longtime festival vendors. New for 2026, festival-goers can enjoy delicious offerings from Newport Chowder Company, the new 401 Oyster Seafood Truck, Roy Boys Clam Shack featuring lobster dinners and steamers, and a variety of additional food vendors including Pita Pocket, TATA, Bitter Sweet and The Snowball Experience.
Each day vendors steam up piles of fresh native lobsters with corn, potatoes and butter, prepare delicious hot and cold lobster rolls, steam up pounds of succulent steamers and mussels, fry up scallops, whole bellied clams and shrimp, serve up gallons of creamy New England clam chowder with clam cakes, as well as prepare Rhode Island’s official appetizer of calamari, and much, much more. Exotic seafood including freshly boiled Cajun crawfish, Maryland-style crab cakes, seafood jambalaya, and farm-raised alligator together with large Gulf shrimp and other delicious foods are all cooked for your dining pleasure onsite. Enjoy freshly harvested and locally grown littleneck clams and a variety of oysters cultivated in the salt ponds of South County. Dine on them served on the half-shell, chilled over ice with a wedge of lemon and your favorite cocktail sauce or vinaigrette, or grilled in a variety of ways, all while taking in the sights, sounds and entertainment throughout the festival grounds.
Dining opportunities also include festival favorites such as burgers and french fries, hot dogs, fish chowder, corn on the cob, spiral potatoes, chicken and beef, fish and chips, sausage and pepper sandwiches, steak sandwiches, fried dough, ice cream and many other dessert choices. The food choices abound at this festival and you’re guaranteed to find something that tempts your palate. What goes better with seafood and BBQ than frosty draft beer, chilled wine and hard seltzers? Multiple beverage choices are available for purchase on site; guests must be of legal drinking age and have a valid photographic ID.
The Charlestown Seafood Festival offers patrons great outdoor musical entertainment. Your general event admission price includes non-stop concerts performed each day by a variety of musical talents including David Tessier and the All Stars, Take It To The Bridge and The Senders on Friday, August 7th. On Saturday, August 8th come and enjoy the sounds of Amber Rose and the Renegades, Vyntyge Skynyrd (Lynyrd Skynyrd Tribute Band), Legacy (Journey, Foreigner and Styx Tribute) and a true New England favorite, the awesome Dirty Deeds (AC/DC Tribute) for a night of classic rock that leads into our fireworks display that is not to be missed. Rounding out the weekend on Sunday, August 9th enjoy Ed Peabody and The Big Blue Thang, the ever popular swing sounds of Eight to the Bar, Experience Queen featuring Jesse Agan and Raise Your Hands, a Bon Jovi Tribute Band.
In addition to great dining, refreshments and concert events, the festival hosts a variety of craft vendors, a large carnival by Cushing Amusements (ride special, 'Ride All the Rides' on Friday afternoon from noon to 5 p.m. on August 7, 2026 for $35.00 per person), an awesome mid-summer fireworks show on Saturday, August 8, 2026 at 9:00 PM (fireworks rain date Sunday, August 9, 2026), and a classic car show on Sunday, August 9, 2026.
General daily admission to the Charlestown Seafood Festival is $14.00 for adults; children 10 and under are free. Military (with ID) and Senior (65 and older) admission is $10.00. Parking is free (a $2.00 parking donation is encouraged). The event goes on daily rain or shine. Please keep pets at home. Self-contained RV camping is available onsite.
For more information and a detailed schedule of festival events and activities, please log on to www.charlestownseafoodfestival.com or contact Executive Director Heather Paliotta at (401) 364-4031.


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MEDIA CONTACT:
Kimberly J. Poland, Poland Media Group – (401) 743-7272, kimberly@polandmediagroup.com

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