Nearly 50 restaurants scattered along Pinellas County's barrier islands are gearing up to serve exclusive $10 dishes starting Saturday, October 3, as the annual Taste of the Beaches festival returns from Tierra Verde to Clearwater Beach. The event kicks off a night early with a free concert and party, giving locals and visitors a low-cost way to sample kitchens they might otherwise skip.
According to Tampa Bay 28, the festival has grown year after year since it was started during the slow season as a way to give people a reason to visit beach restaurants they might not otherwise try. The festival begins October 3, and organizers are throwing an official Kickoff Party the night before at Horan Park in St. Pete Beach, featuring live music from the Big Brother Band, according to the City of St. Pete Beach. Horan Park is a waterfront gathering spot that regularly hosts civic concerts and community celebrations, making it a fitting stage to launch the festivities.
How to Snag a $10 Ticket
Tickets can be purchased online or at Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber visitor centers, the station's report notes.
The festival's fixed-price plates include Coco's Crush Bar & Grill's jumbo lump crab cake sandwich with a side paired with an Orange Crush cocktail, per the same account. Participating restaurants offer these tasting plates as part of the event.
New Chamber Leadership, Old Recovery Story
Charlie Justice, president and CEO of the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber, said Taste of the Beaches gives people a reason to visit beach restaurants and try something new, according to Tampa Bay 28. Justice was named the chamber's new CEO in January 2025, according to Florida Politics.
Justice succeeded former CEO Robin Miller, who resigned in December 2024 after 16 years leading the chamber to take an executive post at a chamber in North Carolina, Florida Politics reported. The Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber itself traces back to 1958, when it was founded as the St. Pete Beach Chamber of Commerce before consolidating several municipal beach chambers in 1989 and adopting its current name in 1997, according to the Tampa Bay Beaches Chamber.
Proceeds Head to Habitat for Humanity
A portion of ticket proceeds from this year's festival will go to Habitat for Humanity Tampa Bay Gulfside, the official nonprofit partner for 2026, according to the St. Pete Catalyst.
Tampa Bay 28 notes that Pinellas County beach towns are still recovering from the devastating hurricanes that struck a few years ago. That recovery has been substantial on paper: storms named Debby, Helene, and Milton damaged nearly 47,000 homes and 1,200 businesses across the county in late 2024, and county crews had to place over 2.5 million cubic yards of sand in 2025 to restore eroded barrier island shorelines, according to a Pinellas County Government report. That autumn's storm surge levels along the barrier islands were the worst seen since 1921.
Taste of the Beaches gives diners a low-cost way to try beach restaurants during the festival, one $10 plate at a time.
