Space Coast Seashell Festival
The annual Space Coast Seashell Festival will be held in Melbourne, Florida, January 17-18, 2026. Hosted by the Astronaut Trail Shell Club, this event is always the 3rd weekend in January and kicks off Florida’s seashell festival season.
Now in its 45th year, this festival welcomes about 3,000 visitors to admire the scientific and artistic exhibits, see and shop the vendor displays, and enter to win raffles and door prizes. The event has moved to a bigger venue this year to be able to feature more exhibitors and vendors than ever before, and as always, the event is free to the public.
The show features shells collected from around the world in a wide array of educational exhibits, providing a great opportunity to learn about shells and the animals they come from. Artistic shell creations — mermaids, sailor’s valentine boxes, floral bouquets, all made entirely of shells — compete for best in show. And ringing the exhibits are vendor tables filled with gorgeous shells for casual and serious collectors and crafters, as well as shell jewelry and home decor. The festival is geared to all ages, and includes a kids’ corner where the little ones can engage in shell painting and take home a fun-filled activity booklet.
The festival is the highlight of the year for the Astronaut Trail Shell Club; a chance to share their knowledge and love for shells with other shelling enthusiasts, as well as excite the next generation about the beauty and diversity of our oceans. For this reason, the club continues to make the event free to attend, and offsets the cost through offering great raffle prizes. Look for a chance to win a $50 gift card to the Beachcombing shop in this year’s raffle.
- Fun for all ages! Free Admission & Parking.
- Educational with unique shopping opportunities.
- See seashells from around the world.
- Win great prizes — Door Prizes & Raffles
- See amazing Shell Artistic Entries and Scientific Exhibits!
45th Annual Space Coast Seashell Festival
Saturday and Sunday, January 17–18, 2026
9:30 AM - 4 PM
Wickham Park Community Center
2815 Leisure Way, Melbourne, FL 32935
Free admission
The Astronaut Trail Shell Club meets monthly, though breaks June–August, and also meets for shell crafting sessions and local shelling expeditions.
Learn more about the Astronaut Trail Shell Club Facebook page.
Learn more about beachcombing events around the world featuring sea and beach glass, seashells, fossils, floats, mudlarking and more for beachcombers. Articles ›
View a list of upcoming beachcombing shows, festivals, and events ›
Learn more about seashells
Learn more about identifying shells, the history of seashell collecting, great shelling beaches, and the lives of the animals who make the shells we find on the beach. Articles ›
No live shelling: Be sure shells are empty and sand dollars, sea stars, and sea urchins are no longer alive before you bring them home.
