2015 Pompano Beach Seafood Festival

Interesting vibe. The food was not fresh and the event was overpriced for what you got.

Pompano Beach Seafood Festival 2015: We parked at 9:40 and arrived at the gate just before 10am and waited until 10:20 for the gate to open. The person with the tickets did not arrive until after 10 and then was busy explaining that the price was $ 15 for Saturday, not the $ 10 they were charging on Friday.
There are plentiful booths selling everything including jewelry, artwork, clothing, hats, beauty products, dive gear, dive lessons and more. The booths were good but, frankly, you can find almost anything there at many of the free festivals held frequently around South Florida.
The food prices (which varied from booth to booth) were about $ 24 for a plate of fried fish (fish, calamari, fried clams and french fries), $ 18 for a lobster roll, $ 12 – 15 for a plate of paella, $ 8 for a Clam Chowder, $ 7 for a corn dog. There were also Cheese steak sandwiches, BBQ ribs, pulled pork and sausage (platter or sandwich) available for those who are not partial to seafood. For a drink, be prepared to pay $ 7.00 for RumRunner ($ 9 with an extra shot) or $ 5 for a Lemon Ice, $ 4 for a water (i didn’t price beer) The seating is utterly ridiculous since there is only one area we could find with four tables and 6 seats at each table.
Be prepared to shell out at least $ 10 for parking, some in the area were $ 15 – 20. The best deal was at the municipal lot but that was full when we arrived around 9:30.
For bathrooms, there is a municipal bathroom near the South entrance and plentiful Port-​A-​Potties near the food area as well as multiple hand washing stations. One charity was even handing out hand sanitizer (THANK YOU!!!).
So, I’ll not be attending again. The $ 40 for parking and entry (2 people) was not worth it. I would like to see them change it so entry is less ($ 5 would be reasonable, free would be better) and charge for those who wanted to stay for the concert (s) and give them a different color wrist band.