BILOXI, Miss.—During the week leading up to the 45th Annual Biloxi Seafood Festival, Shilah McCollum said she grew nervous seeing storms and rain move through the Mississippi Gulf Coast. As director of the Biloxi Chamber of Commerce, she’d been hard at work alongside local businesses and vendors to plan this year’s event.
On the morning of Sept. 12, McCollum was excited to wake up to see clear, beautiful skies and the sun brightly shining over The Lawn at Harrah’s Gulf Coast where the festival was set to take place from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
“It just makes my heart smile and warm and I know I get to help some small businesses and the people,” McCollum said, describing her role in organizing the event.
CEO of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce Ben Weldon said around 120 vendors and an estimated 8,500 to 9,000 attendees attended the festival. Entry cost $5 per person, and children 10 and under got in for free. The event is a decades-long tradition that has served as a crucial part of celebrating Biloxi’s maritime culture and heritage.
“It’s been a longtime institution as far as events go in Biloxi and this is the biggest one we’ve had in quite some time,” Weldon said.
For Weldon, the most special part of the festival is the local buy-in.
“If you walk through the rows here and through all the vendors, you’re going to see people that you know, that you shop with or that you eat at their restaurants,” he said.
McCollum said the Chamber’s overall goal by hosting the festival is to help as many local businesses as possible and encourage community growth.
“A lot of people don’t know that the money we make off this event, we pour it back into our small businesses and the Biloxi community,” McCollum said.
She also emphasized the importance of creating a space for small businesses and members of the Biloxi community to come together and have fun.
“What makes it special is just watching the impact of people coming out here to support the community,” McCollum said. “I have seen so many people just having so much fun—they’re so excited to be out here today.”
Attendees at the 45th Annual Biloxi Seafood festival enjoyed live music and a wide variety of local vendors in the food and seafood industry, arts and more.
Here are some photos from this year’s festival on Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026.
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