April 3- thru May 2 – Bluegrass Festival, Gumbo Cookoff & Blessing of the Fleet – Kemah
The little city of Kemah was big in entertainment this past weekend. The annual Blessing of the Fleet was held on Sunday, at the Kemah Boardwalk. Hundreds of spectators gathered along the boardwalk to watch decorated shrimp boats, smoking pirate ships, pleasure craft and even a canoe make their way past the
podium so as to be blessed. This annual tradition started in Italy as a way to pay tribute to those that have gone before us and to ask for safety and a bountiful catch for the upcoming season. Now in its 42nd year, this Kemah tradition continues to grow in popularity and in activities.
In 2009, a Shrimp Gumbo Cookoff was added to the Blessing weekend. This year the entries more than doubled. Tasty gumbo was prepared from one end of the Kemah Visitors parking lot to the other. Rich rue, snow white rice, tender oysters, rich sausage and best of all shrimp, big, tasty Texas shrimp filled the cooking pots. Ten independent judges were selected, including our own Eddie Harper. Each entry was carefully assessed on its aroma, consistency, color and flavor.
And this year, another event was added to the Blessing of the Fleet weekend. The first annual Bluegrass Festival was held at the Kemah Visitors parking lot; with more than a dozen bands entertaining bluegrass fans.
What a great weekend it was. Listen in to Talk of the Bay as we visited with some of the fun loving folks at these great events happening in Kemah. check out the pics...Blue Grass and Gumbo Cookoff and Blessing of the Fleet Editor’s Note: Eddie, originally from Houma, Louisiana, is quite the accomplished gumbo chef himself. He prefers a dark rue. |
