Pensacola Ice Flyers Sponsored an Awesome 2026 Seafood Festival

The Pensacola Ice Flyers know how to throw a party.

The local hockey team and bald eagle mascot Maverick were the main sponsors of the 2026 Pensacola Seafood Festival, which brought thousands back to the last day of the annual event on Sunday, September 27.

The event, which hosts its own website, is loved by all ages, as clearly seen Sunday afternoon. Thousands gathered near the Old Christ Church, Pensacola's oldest sanctuary. Live music could be heard through the trees in Seville Square, where vendors gave it their all to gain the attention of each passerby.

(Photo Credit: Angela Underwood)

Though the festival promises amazing seafood, it also touts diverse vendors selling everything from PVC pipe lawn décor and circular mermaid fire pits to custom-made pooch pictures.

Some come for unique gifts; others come just for the food, especially the shrimp scampi from Buona Fortuna Lodge #2835. Patrons lined up, waiting for their Styrofoam containers to be filled with one of Italy’s most famous dishes.

“It’s an opportunity to reach out to the community, and we can present our award-winning shrimp scampi, and all the money from it goes into our charities that we support and scholarships,” Ginny Barberi, lodge president, said. “But our main reason is to reach out and let people know we have an Italian Lodge here in Pensacola.”

The local Order of Sons & Daughters of Italy in America notes they are “men and women who are dedicated to promoting Italian culture, traditions, language, the legacy of our ancestors, and our contributions to the U.S. and the world," on their website.

They contribute in many ways, from community funding to cultural love.

(Buona Fortuna Lodge #2835 Members/Officers: Rachelle Torjusen, Patricia Russo, Ginny Barberi)

Barberi made it clear that "you don’t have to be Italian to join,” the local lodge. The annual festival is not only an opportunity to introduce people to the local lodge, but also a preview of the upcoming festival, according to Patricia Russo, also a former lodge president.

Clad in a red-and-black shrimp apron, Russo could not wait to talk about the upcoming Festa Italiana.

“It’s October 9 and 10th in Seville Square,” Russo said, adding, “We got so big we had to move out of this park into the big park.”

Lodge Charity Chair Rachelle Torjusen's love of Italian food introduced her to the lodge leaders, whom she calls family.

“I have always loved Italian food, and when we moved to Pensacola, we quickly found the festival that led us to the lodge and learned that the Sons and Daughters of Italy are a nonprofit, and they only serve the shrimp scampi twice a year at the Seafood Festival and Festa Italiana, so we make sure never to miss it,” Torjusen said.

(Photo Credit: Angela Underwood)

Like many recurring customers, Torjusen said she too “came every year and had to make sure I got my shrimp scampi.”

Her love of Italian food grew richer when Torjusen learned through Ancestry.com that she was one-percent Italian, making her perfect for her present post over funding.

The charity chair touts the lodge’s funding success, saying “we have given 180,000 dollars to charity since 2006 when they opened.”

“This year we were able to donate 22,000 dollars to local charities in Pensacola and surrounding communities,” Torjusen said, adding that the most recent impact was the funds they gave to Trauma Release Invest Inc., a local suicide prevention group. “We were the first grant they received.”

Torjusen said now that she is on the other side of the table, "I have gotten to meet so many of our return customers that come every year to get their shrimp scampi fix. "

"It’s heartwarming to be able to connect with the community over this shrimp scampi and be able to get to know the people more and share our Italian culture," Torjusen said.

Among the famous shrimp scampi booth and dozens of other vendors, a huge Coke bottle stood high near the Old Christ Church, where families gathered to eat on the lawn.

(Photo Credit: Angela Underwood)

One of the most common threads among visitors was hand-holding, whether it was a toddler's tiny fingers holding on tightly to their mother’s or couples tightly knit together among the crowded square. It is clear by this year's success that the 2027 Pensacola Seafood Festival will be greatly anticipated.

Till then, mangia.