The sound of Caribbean music drifted down the riverfront as local residents and tourists strolled past vendors and displays. Steve Britt, a local steel drummer, says the music helps to welcome new people into the community.
"Well I think everyone likes a little background music when they come to visit someplace," Britt says. "It’s something a little bit different that not everyone hears all the time."
The Carrabelle Riverfront Festival, which started in 1992, has seen different iterations over the years, with this installment including both an Airing of the Quilts and a car show. Sissy Gertman, a member of the local quilting guild, says residents submitted more than 100 quilts to be shown off.
"This is from back in the history of the tradition of homes that had been closed up all winter and bedding and linens are kind of musty so they would take everything out and hang it on the fence, from the trees or on the clothesline," Gertman says. "Airing of the Quilts."
The festival is also helping to drive business and bring in new faces, says General Manager Kimberly Wallace of Harry’s Bar.
“We don't have a lot of foot traffic as is it being a small community, if there's a big fishing tournament it brings people in sure but this brings people from all over year after year,” she says.
Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Lori Dougherty agrees.
"We bring in so many people from out of the area that wouldn't normally see their shops here, their beautiful little shops here," Dougherty says. "We have a few that have the most unique things in them. People will come to the festival and then mosey over to their little shops."
Dougherty hopes the festival shows off the community to tourists and gives them a reason to visit and invest in the local economy again and again.
