The 142nd annual St. Ambrose Fair will be held from noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 30, at St. Ambrose Catholic Church and grounds, 6070 Church Road, Elkton, from State Road 207.
This is Florida's oldest fair — right here in St. Johns County. St. Ambrose Catholic Church celebrated 150 years in February.
Catholic Mass was first celebrated with settlers in a barn on this site in the early 1800s. In 1875, St. Ambrose Parish was established when a small wood frame church was built by the Rev. Fr. Stephen Langlade, a skilled carpenter from France. By 1907, he had also built a rectory, school, convent and a larger church.
The most popular item at the fair is the Minorcan clam chowder, prepared by Mary Ellen Masters and her chowder crew, which features the famous Datil pepper and a recipe that has been passed down from generation to generation.
The crew makes 190 gallons and it all sells out every time. March is Menorcan Heritage Month in St. Augustine and St. Johns County. Masters' ancestors were part of the Menorcan exodus in 1777, which escaped from a failed plantation as endured servants, and made their way on foot to St. Augustine.
The Menorcans are credited with bringing the datil pepper to St. Augustine — a spicy pepper that is part of the Minorcan clam chowder recipe and other dishes that remain on menus today.
Masters was featured in October 2024 on the popular website, The Bitter Southerner, in a blog called “Clam South.” The writer, Caroline Hatchett, also a food editor with The New York Times, will be at the festival this year to document the Minorcan clam chowder process.
Other menu items at the fair will include pulled pork dinners, French fries, hot dogs and hamburgers, cheeseburgers, boiled peanuts, homemade desserts, ice cream, soda, water and beer. An ATM will be on site. Admission is free.
Also at the event: Live music by local bands Money for Nothing, hay rides, antique cars by the St. Augustine Cruisers, children’s games, tours of the historic church, a bake sale, a garage sale, a 50/50 drawing and silent auction.
Free parking on site. Arrive early to get in the chowder line!
