Our annual crawfish festival was a huge success again this year and we want to thank all our volunteers, vendors, and the crawfish cooking teams. An enormous amount of time goes into the planning of this yearly event, and it is truly gratifying to see the crowds enjoying all the festivities.

Kids, get your poles ready for our Kid’s Fish Tournament contest which will be held May 25th. Deb Powell with POC Rod and Gun will be hosting the Kid’s fishing tournament with registration starting at 7:30 at the Kingfisher Beach Pier. Fishing will begin at 8 with bait provided by the Fishing Center Operations. At 11, awards will be presented for the largest fish, the smallest fish and the most fish. There are three different age brackets, ages 3-5, 6-8, 9-12. It is always a great time seeing the kid’s excitement when they catch the big one.

Later that day Shirley and James Harper will be hosting the Kite Flying Contest. Registration will be at 12:30 with kites up at 1:00. Regardless of age, grab your kite and plan on participating. There are four age brackets, 2-5, 6-10, 11-12 and 13 and over. Awards will be given for best homemade kite, highest flying, tricks, effort, and prettiest. We all love seeing all that color up in the sky.

Remember the Port O’ Connor Farmers Market is the second Saturday of the month from 8:00-12:00 at the Kingfisher Beach Pavilion. You can usually find fresh vegetables, jams and jellies, homemade breads, and fresh eggs. Our local artists are there as well with beautiful coastal pieces.

The annual fourth of July fireworks show will be Saturday July 6, 2024. We depend on donations to provide a professional pyrotechnic show and this year we expect it to cost more than $35,000. This event always draws crowds from across the region and benefits many of our local businesses. If you would like to donate you can do so by visiting our website or dropping your extra change in one of the boxes located at several businesses in town.

The annual fourth of July parade will be on July 4th at 9:00 a.m. Decorate your golf cart, boat, scooter, car, or trailer and join us as we make our way down to the beach and around the northern part of town.

We welcome our newly appointed board member Jessica Keller. Jessica lives in Port O’ Connor with her husband Sean and two children. Jessica also runs her business Lend A Hand.

We appreciate our new and renewing members Lend A Hand – Provides personal assistance, catering to seniors and those with limited mobility, household chores, pet care, local transport and senior companionship. Saltgrass Boatworks specializes in boat detailing and ceramic coating. VC Services offers turnkey metal buildings, individual concrete work, wood framing and much more.
For more information on these businesses and our other chamber members please visit our website at www.portoconnorchamber.com.

The Sedrift Chamber of Commerce invites you to join them for Shrimpfest, June 7th & 8th. Gates open Friday at 3:00 p.m. and on Saturday at 11:00 a.m.

You will enjoy music from Bobby Pulido, Roadside Libby, Crowbars, Roberto Pulido, South Paw, Reagan Hicks, Ryan Thompson and Cullen Watkins
!
There will be tons of activities! Scavenger hunt, horseshoe tournament, Kids Fish, frozen T-shirt contest, cornhole tournament, poker run, and more!

Volunteers are always needed to help with ticket booths (with AC), tournaments, contests and more! Go to the Chamber Facebook page for more info: https://www.facebook.com/shrimpfestseadrift

Did you know?

The very first Shrimpfest was held on July 4, 1980. The fleet was strong and the bay was prosperous. 44 years later, we are still proud of our little village by the bay and want to keep the memories alive.

Congratulations to Port O’Connor’s Teacher of the year, Mrs. Jenny O’Neill (standing), and Dedication to Education staff member, Mrs. Carol Rosenboom. Port O’Connor School is blessed to have both of these ladies on campus!

Honored as Teacher of the Year at Port O’Connor Elementary School, Jenny O’Beill has 20 years of service at CCISD. She currently teaches PreK.

Jenny says her favorite thing about teaching is when her students talk about their families and activities, and they get so excited about learning something new. She says she has learned from her students how to be patient, especially since Pre-K students have never been in a classroom setting before. It takes them a while to get accustomed to the rules and behavior expectations, and she enjoys facilitating transition.

Most of all, Mrs. O’Neill hopes her students remember their time in her classroom as having fun while learning.

Dedication of Excellence recipient Carol Rosenboom provides a welcoming and helpful front office experience at Port O’Connor School. Mrs. Rosenboom also handles attendance, enrollment, withdraws, purchasing and records. Most of all, she hopes to provide a caring, supportive presence for her students, and she tries to do anything she can to support her teachers, and make their jobs easier. Carol is being recognized for her dedication to education, and the personal commitment and value she brings to her school and community each and every day.

Pictured in last month’s edition of Dolphin Talk were the honor recipients at Seadrift School.
Seadrift Teacher of the Year. Roxanne Ochoa. Mrs. Ochoa says her favorite part of being a teacher is working with people, getting to know the students, and being there for them when they need her. She says she hopes that her students realize how much they have to offer by just being themselves and doing their best. Mrs. Ochoa attributes her accomplishments to her mother, Debbie Gayle, who was her first teacher, and whom she misses greatly.

Debbie Benetiz was selected as Seadrift Schools Dedication to Education award recipient. Mrs. Benetiz says she enjoys working in education because she gets to work with children and make a positive difference in their lives. She says the children are so full of life and wonderment, that even on a bad day, they can make you smile! Mrs. Benitez describes her school as her family… she loves the small school atmosphere where everyone knows one another.

12th Annual – A Great Success!
Last year it was the challenges of mud; this year it was the wind that posed an obstacle for the participants of the 12th Annual POC Crawfish Fest & Cookoff. Fortunately, the wind didn’t dampen the spirits of the estimated 4,300 attendees who enjoyed the beautiful, breezy day in the park. The event was filled with delicious crawfish and other Cajun dishes, flowing beer, dancing, and various food and craft vendors.

This year, we had a total of 40 cooking teams participate in the competition. The atmosphere was filled with excitement and laughter as the teams battled it out. Team It Ain’t Gonna Suck Itself claimed victory as the Champion Boiled Crawfish, followed by Coastal Oaks Cowboys in 2nd place and Heads or Tails in 3rd place.

The Best Side Dish award was won by Claws Up for their delicious Empanada’s, with Let the Good Times Boil securing 2nd place for their loaded crawfish potato, and team Royal Boilers taking 3rd for their mouth-watering crawfish bisque.

Each year, the Bloody Mary contest challenges participants to showcase their creativity through both the presentation and contents of their Bloody Mary creation. This year, awards were given for the Best Tasting Bloody Mary and Best Bloody Mary Presentation. The top spot for this year’s Best Presentation was claimed by team Let the Good Times Boil, while team Mingus ‘Merica took 1st place for the Best Tasting Bloody Mary. Let the Good Times Boil clinched the title for Best Decorated Booth.

Crawfish Fest
First Place Boiled Crawfish
It Ain’t Gonna Suck Itself

While there are designated judges assigned to evaluate the Crawfish entries, event attendees are also given the chance to choose their preferred entry. The People’s Choice honor for this year was bestowed upon team Heads or Tails. This victorious team also earned a 10% payout, totaling prize money exceeding $3,200.

In addition to the cooking contests, a Crawfish Eating Contest was held, sponsored by POC Rod & Gun. The winners included Colton Anders who secured 1st Place, Jason Randall claiming 2nd Place, and Ryan Lott coming in 3rd.

The Cornhole Tournament, sponsored by Frio Coolers, was a competitive tournament this year, with 22 teams signed up. 1st place was taken by Coon & Monkey (Daniel Garcia & Laney Walther), 2nd place winners were Old Crow (Dillion Michale & Erin), while Team Hancock (Dylan & Tyler Hancock) came in 3rd. Last, but not least, our Horseshoe competition was going strong! Taking 1st place were Doug and Josh, while Bobby and Justin came in second place. Congrats to all contestant winners!

The music at this year’s event was performed by the six-piece band from Corpus Christi, Splendiferous, along with DJ Loco Motion, Mike Overton, Jr. We extend our gratitude to Scott Brown for arranging the music and sound production of the show, making it truly fantastic.

We are delighted to share that this year, we managed to sell an impressive 3000 lbs of Crawfish Plates! A big thank you to the talented team at Crawfish Croux for joining us in POC and preparing the delicious crawfish dishes. Additionally, a special shout out goes to Glen & Sherry Kusak from Farm Pac Kitchens for generously providing us with their refrigerated keg trailers for the beer stations, along with the trailer used for the Main Stage.

A special thank you to all that showed up on Sunday morning to help us clean up the park… it was VERY MUCH appreciated! All it took was a simple post, and the village came together to help. The park was left in an immaculate condition! A Special thank you to Saltgrass Boatworks for the use of their UTV in picking up the trash throughout the festival! An enheartened thank you to all our Judges, Volunteers and Sponsors. As this is the Chamber’s major fundraiser for the year, we are dependent on all of you. Without your help and support, this event would not be possible. It takes many months of dedicated work to make sure it runs smoothly. Again, thank you so much. Make sure to mark your calendar for next year, April 26th…. Always the last Saturday in April! Please go to and like our POC Chamber of Commerce Facebook and the POC Crawfish Fest and Cook-Off Facebook pages to see all the pics from this awesome day and updates for next year!

Until then, Laissez les bons temps rouler!

MANY THANKS TO OUR SPONSORS AND VOLUNTEERS!

May 8th was a special day for the City of Seadrift and its mayor! Retiring after 16 years of service, Seadrift Mayor Elmer DeForest received a flag from Mark Longoria (pictured above) who represented our US Representative Michael Cloud. The flag had been flown over our US Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Joined with Mark Longoria were well-wishers from the community, city employees, and state and county officials. The retirement party was hosted by the ladies at Seadrift’s City Hall. Elmer DeForest is wished the best in his retirement.

Thank you, Elmer! -Photo by Kenneth Reese