Here’s What to Expect for the 2023 Placencia Lobsterfest

The typically sedate village of Placencia, at the end of a narrow length of peninsula in Southern Belize, occasionally shakes things up with a big, boisterous holiday celebration or festival.  This laid-back community is currently preparing for one such wild weekend of events; their flagship festival will run July 14th through the 16th on the beautiful beach at the very tip of the Placencia Peninsula.  The 23rd Annual Placencia Lobsterfest will transform the large swoop of sand and coconut trees, next to the municipal pier and hedged by the sparkling Caribbean Sea, into a carnivalesque fairgrounds brimming with vendors, entertainment, and loads of lobster-laden foods. 

For three jubilant days, locals and visitors alike will gather on the beach and under the massive event tents to shop one-of-a-kind art and craft items, indulge in every manor of lobster dishes, and dance the night away to an impressive line-up of live bands and hot DJs.

Similar: What’s Happening in Belize in July 2023

It’s a weekend celebration that locals look forward to all year long and that visitors plan their vacations around.  Belize is well-known for its many unique local festivals and Placencia’s Lobsterfest is especially notorious.  There’s fun for everyone!  Here’s what to expect at this year’s event.

All Roads Lead to Placencia Lobsterfest

Both Caye Caulker and San Pedro have Lobster festivals, but Placencia’s is the only one on the mainland.  Often referred to as “the island you can drive to,” Placencia looks and feels like a caye as it’s mostly surrounded by water, but it’s actually a skinny 16-mile-long strip of land connected to the mainland.  If you drive our one main road the length of the peninsula, you will dead end at the festival grounds: the famous Placencia Point Beach. 

 

It’s a splendid setting for an outdoor festival.  July’s weather is sultry, but you can beat the heat with a cooling sea breeze, a quick swim, or an ice-cold Belikin or Hobb’s Beer (Hobb’s is the local craft brewery).  Shuffle along the small boardwalk and browse the selection of vendors.  Party barefoot on the starlit beach until the wee hours of the morning.  Stuff yourself with decadent dishes because the weekend is all about lobster!  Whole grilled lobsters, lobster curry, lobster pizza, lobster spring rolls, lobster mac-and-cheese, lobster rolls, lobster pies, lobster fritters… everything lobster!

A Weekend of Fun for All

Placencia Lobsterfest has mass appeal; revelers young and old and in-between will enjoy the weekend’s offerings.  By day, families frolic in the sea and neighbors catch up with one another over a drink from the Village Council’s bar.  Face painters, bounce houses, and sailboat rides occupy the children.  The entertainment tent stays constantly buzzing with a continuous rotation of DJs and live musical performances from local favorites like Dee Breezy and Kylon Eiley, Super Furia, Bussa B Band, and the Pantempters Steel Drum Orchestra. 

 

Wacky competitions like burger eating, beer guzzling, and the greasy pole contest will have the crowds cheering and laughing in equal measure.  Fisherfolk will flock to the dock to participate in this year’s fishing tournament with over $16,000 in cash and prizes.  Stick around after the exciting weigh-in and awards ceremony for a spectacular fireworks show over the ocean, an especially arresting display because of the beautiful mirroring effect of the reflection on the water.

The Placencia Lobsterfest: It Takes a Village

The weekend Lobster festival is Placencia’s premiere event, the biggest of the year and the community’s pride and joy.  They say, “it takes a village to raise a child” and Lobsterfest is the Peninsula’s baby as evident by just how much time, love and energy goes into creating this event.  

 

From the countless businesses that sponsor the festivities, to the local artists that donate hand painted decorations, to the talented musicians that give their all to their performances, to the many community volunteers that assist with executing the fete, you’ll feel the love of this community beating in your veins as strongly as the beating rhythms of the high school’s marching band or the Garifuna Drumming collective. 

Join the fun for one or for all three days of Placencia Lobsterfest 2023; experience Belize’s infamous warm and welcoming hospitality at this authentically local festival, and of course, lap up as much delicious lobster as you can handle!  

Featured Photo by Kevin Quischan Photography