SOS Seafood Festival: Sustaining Our Seas is Saturday, January 30 in Princeton-By-The-Sea

Are you ready for some seafood?

The inaugural SOS Seafood Festival: Sustaining Our Seas will be held Saturday, January 30 (rain or shine) from 10 am to 5 pm in the vast outdoor lots surrounding Half Moon Bay Brewing Company overlooking picturesque Pillar Point Harbor in Princeton-By-The-Sea, the historic and funky fishing hamlet 4 miles north of Half Moon Bay.

First and foremost: SOS is a great opportunity to learn all about sustainable seafood — why it’s important, how to shop for it, how to prepare it!

Highlights include:

•The headliner – SOS Seafood For Thought Chefs Pavilion will include celebrity chefs’ demos, an expert panel discussion on the effects of ocean warming, seafood sustainability, the seafood chain, and the role of the restaurant industry and food-serving community in helping to shape the future of seafood. Plus a complimentary tasting of award-winning wine from Half Moon Bay’s Barterra Winery and Mavericks Brewing Company’s newest version of its popular Tunnel Vision IPA brewed using recycled water. The SOS Seafood For Thought Chefs Pavilion is curated by the Google Food Team led by Teaching Kitchen Program Manager Liv Wu and award-winning Edible Silicon Valley Magazine led by Publisher and Editor Kerri Stenson.

•Panel Speakers: Liv Wu (Google Food Team), Kerri Stenson (Edible SIlicon Valley), Tim Sloane (Pacific Coast Fed. of Fishermen’s Associations), Sheila Bowman (Seafood Watch/Monterey Bay Aquarium), Cindy Walter (Passionfish restaurant), Kirk Lombard (Sea Forager Seafood), Casson Treanor (Tataki Sushi & Sake Bar), John Chavez (New Leaf Community Market).

•Chef Demos: Doug Bernstein (Fish), Kenny Belov (Fish), Matthew Beaudin (Monterey Bay Aquarium), Kevin Butler (Real Good Fish), Alan Lovewell (Real Good Fish), Ted Walter (Passionfish), Jesse Cool (Flea Street Café), Carlos Canada (Flea Street Café), Yu Min Lin (The Sea by Alexander’s Steakhouse), Lewis Rossman (Sam’s Chowder House).

•SOS Food Truck City: Google Food Team in association with Bon Appétit and Monterey Fish Market (tempura fish and chips, calamari and chorizo skewers, seafood cioppino, rockfish ceviche, freshly shucked oysters), Off the Grid (rock cod and swordfish tacos), Sam’s ChowderMobile (New England clam chowder, Baja-style rock cod tacos, blackened rock cod sandwiches, “old bay” shrimp rolls, fried calamari, plus kid-friendly chicken strips and hot dogs), Seville Tapas (paella three ways, pepitos mini-sandwiches, empanadillas, Spanish cookies, GF/DF almond torte). The fresh, delicious seafood used by the Google and Bon Appetit Food Team at SOS is donated by Monterey Fish Market. All seafood comes from California fisheries with the exception of mussels and clams (from Washington State). 100% of the proceeds from the Google and Off-The-Grid food trucks at SOS will go to The Mavericks Coastside Foundation. All of our food vendors are donating a % of their proceeds.

In the Fin-Tastic Funzone across the street, food includes Ultimate Souvlaki (seafood, chicken, and lamb souvlaki, lamb meatballs, vegetarian souvlaki, dolmas, baklava, parfaits), plus Dippin Dots, Olde Thyme Kettlecorn and Sandees Fresh Grind Espresso drinks and smoothies.

•SOS Beverage Bistros sprinkled throughout the event will feature a variety of local award-winning wines from Barterra Winery and Half Moon Bay Winery, world-class small batch craft beers from Half Moon Bay Brewing Company, South City Hard Cider and refreshingly delicious SOS specialty cocktails from Half Moon Bay Distillery (traditional Bloody Mary, classic Gin & Tonic).

•SOS Mavericks Concert Stage, located amidst a magnificent grove of Monterey Cypress trees, will feature a stellar lineup of all-day headliner entertainment featuring The House Rockers, Mustache Harbor, Rumbache and The Lady Crooners.

•SOS Cool Coastal Marketplace will offer ocean-inspired arts and crafts and ocean advocacy groups with exhibits and information on ocean preservation, marine life, fisheries and sustainability.

•The world-renowned Earth Circus will wow festivalgoers with a stunning repertoire of high-quality, artistic entertainment from the mesmerizing to the thrilling...amazing stilters, fascinating acrobats and jugglers, plus unique facepainting for kids.

•SOS Fin-Tastic Funzone – across the street, in the “Field of Dreams” lot overlooking the harbor, is the free-admission Fin-Tastic Funzone, sponsored by Sam’s Chowder House, with an array of awesome attractions for kids including a high-flying zip-line, super-thrilling bungee jump, wild and wacky waterballerz, challenging rock climbing wall, performers from the inimitable Sardine Family Circus and plenty of family-friendly food, fun and games.

Organizers of the Half Moon Bay Crab Fest recast their 2016 event as the SOS Seafood Festival as a result of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s emergency ruling to delay the opening of the commercial crab season due to high levels of domoic acid and all the uncertainty surrounding the season.

SOS is the international Morse code distress signal being highlighted in the event name to call attention to the current state of ocean life and our need to address and remedy it.

Your ticket purchase is a tax deductible contribution to Mavericks Coastside Foundation, a 501 C-3 organization, as allowed by law. The primary charitable beneficiaries are Mavericks Coastside Foundation and the Cabrillo Education Foundation.

Tickets are available at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sos-seafood-festival-sustaining-our-seas-tickets-19672768781

Age 20 and under receive free admission but each person age 20 and under must be accompanied by an adult ticket holder (on the Brewing Company side of the event).

Admission is free for all across the street in the Fin-Tastic Funzone.

Limited vehicle and bicycle parking are available in the large lot directly across the street from the event.

Pets are not allowed on the Half Moon Bay Brewing Company side of the event.

The festival will take place rain or shine.

WEBSITE: https://www.sosseafest.org/

YOU TUBE: https://youtu.be/Q8q5Qc08fss

FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/sosseafest/

TWITTER: https://twitter.com/sosfesthmb

INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/SOSfestHMB/

Our mission is to bring people together, inspire them and stimulate their minds with a meaningful event that brings awareness to the effects of ocean warming, the importance of seafood sustainability and raises funds for important community causes. Our goal is to be part of the solution to help bring about the preservation of a precious resource: ocean life.