Originally scheduled for November 2024, the third annual Gulfport Gumbo Fest will be held Jan. 25 at Centennial Plaza.
“We’ve always held it either the second or third week of November,” says Kristen Garriga, executive director of the hosting Gulfport Main Street Association. “We had a potential storm threat when the event was to take place in November, so we decided to move it to January. It’s always a great impact event and a very successful festival, but I think moving it to January is going to make it an even bigger event than it was already planning to be.”
The festival opens at 10:30 a.m. and runs until 4 p.m. with free admission. It will feature live entertainment, arts and crafts vendors, food, and refreshments. About 3,500 people attended the 2023 event.
“We will have a lot of local and out- of-state vendors and art vendors,” Garriga said. “All the vendors will be wrapped around the center fountains in Centennial Plaza. People can see artists from all over the Gulf Coast and other states. For entertainment, we’ll have a couple local two-man bands. Our headliner is a very well-known zydeco band from New Orleans called the DayWalkers.”
When it comes to food, visitors won’t be disappointed. People can buy different foods from festival vendors, but highlighting the event will be the Stir Da Roux Gumbo Cook-Off. In 2023, 22 teams competed.
“There’s no cost to get into the festival, but if people want to take part in the gumbo tasting, they can pay $20 and can taste all the gumbos they want,” Garriga says. “It’s all they can eat as long as the gumbo lasts.”
The Stir Da Roux Gumbo Cook-Off winner will receive $2,500 and much coveted annual bragging rights. The second-place team gets $1,500 with the third-place team taking home $500. Kenneth Casey III, owner of Flava Krave Catering in Gulfport, and his team won the best gumbo title in 2023.
“I was nervous,” Casey said. “It was the first time I’ve ever entered the contest. It was an amazing feeling when they announced us as the champions. I just couldn’t believe it. It was like a weight lifted off my shoulders. Waiting for that last minute to be called is just everything.”
For Casey, cooking is a family affair. Also on the team were Kenneth’s grandmother, Julia Ann Butler, his mother, Stacy Bullard-Casey, his aunt, Kenya Casey, and cousin Tavarus Casey.
“Making gumbo starts at home in the kitchen,” Casey said. “I started cooking with my grandparents. I’ve been making gumbo for more than eight years, but I’ve only been catering for five years. I developed a service called Cajun Hibachi Grill where we go to other people’s houses to cook in front of them.”
Casey’s winning recipe, although a family secret, contained sausage, chicken, crawfish, shrimp, blue crabs, and crab meat. He also added three other “flavas.”
“My three main ingredients were ‘love, flava, and soul!’” he said. “Getting the roux down is all about the stock. That’s what’s going to flavor the gumbo, not the meat and seasonings we put in it. Trash makes treasure! I make my stock from end pieces of vegetables, chicken bones, crawfish heads, and some extra seasoning of my own and cook it all down for a good-seasoned stock.”
Getting the roux down is all about the stock. That’s what’s going to flavor the gumbo, not the meat and seasonings we put in it. Trash makes treasure!
Casey travels frequently cooking Cajun, creole, and soul food for his clients. Contact him at 228-806-5682 or at flavakcatering20@yahoo.com.
In a separate contest from the Stir Da Roux Gumbo Cook-Off, mayors representing their Gulf Coast communities will compete against each other for the Mayor’s Cup. Either the mayor or a representative will defend the honor of their communities.
“We always see a lot of trash talk among the mayors and their teams,” Garriga said. “It’s a lot of fun with great camaraderie. Gulfport Mayor Billy Hewes won in 2023, so he can’t compete in 2025. Gulf Ship won the People’s Choice Award and Red Clay Roux won the Best Decorated Tent Award. People do not need a tasting ticket to taste the mayors’ gumbos, but they can vote for their favorite pots of gumbo.”
