Our 17th Annual Florida Keys Lionfish Derby will culminate in a family friendly Conservation Science and Arts Festival

Sunday April 26th - 12:00pm - 4:00pm at the REEF Campus - 98380 Overseas Hwy, Key Largo, FL 33037

Hands-on activities, interactive displays, educational games, and much more!

Vendor Application- CLOSED

Lionfish Derby Details and Registration Captains Meeting & Kick-Off Party

Splash into scientific exploration and creativity with REEF. This family-friendly event will feature numerous local artists and environmental organizations sharing hands-on activities. The goal is to engage our community and show how arts can connect the public to science and conservation. There will be interactive displays, activities, and booths to attract and engage audiences with science, conservation, and the environment. The Festival is free and open to all ages! 

The festival will include:

  • Interactive activities and games
  • Lionfish weigh-in and scoring
  • Lionfish fillet and dissection and cooking demonstrations
  • Free lionfish tastings
  • Science Demos
  • Live Music
  • Food trucks and drinks
  • Derby Awards Ceremony
  • and more!

If you have any questions, please email lionfish@REEF.org or call our office at 305-852-0030.

2026 Vendors 

ZooKeeper

FWC- Lionfish Contral Team 

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

I.CARE

Florida Bay Forever

Card Sound Aquatic Preserve

Coral Restoration Foundation

Lionfish Central Inc.

Chef Allen

Jabebo Studio

MarineLab

Girl Scouts of Tropical Florida 

Jellyfish Daydreams

Heart in the Wild 

MarineLab

Bimini Biological Field Station Foundation 

John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park

Mote Marine Laboratory

Reef Relief

Ashlyn Underwater

Florida Keys Wild Bird Rehabilitation Center

Lionfish Jewelry- Stream2Sea

Key Largo Lena- Lionfish Jewelry

 

and food from local food trucks- A Moveable Feast, Cupacabana, and Polar Ice

 

2026 Florida Keys Lionfish Derby Kick-off Party and Captains Meeting will be held at Sharkeys Sharkbite Grill, Key Largo, FL on Thursday April 23, 2026 at 5PM
Join us there to kick-off the event weekend!

Interested in competing in the Derby? Visit www.REEF.org/derby for all the details and to register.

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