Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival

Home Of The Dungeness Crab!

October 13-14, 2012

Get Ready…Here Comes The Crab!  Taste the bounty of the Olympic coast and savor the riches from our sparkling blue waters, magical forests, and organic farms at the

11th Annual Dungeness Crab and Seafood Festival on Saturday-Sunday, October 13-14 in Port Angeles. “Crabfest” is the annual celebration of our region’s diverse bounty - the seafood, agriculture and maritime traditions, and the breathtaking coastal environment that is home to the Dungeness crab. The Festival takes place downtown at the Port Angeles City Pier, Gateway Center, and Red Lion Hotel overlooking the beautiful Strait of Juan de Fuca. Hours are 10am-8:30pm on Saturday and 10am-5pm on Sunday. Admission is free and the big top tent provides covered seating for eating and listening!

A fun event with an authentically  “Northwest” flavor, the American Bus Association named the Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival one of the Top 100 Events in North America for 2011, and Coastal Living Magazine named the Festival one of the Top 10 Coastal Events for 2010.

It’s All About Great Food and the Freshest Crab!

Under the 8,000 square foot “Big Top,” known as Crab Central Pavilion, visitors will find an old-fashioned “crab feed” complete with large kettles of fresh whole crabs ready to be served with fresh corn and cole slaw.  The crabs are caught live and come fresh from local waters – the absolute freshest you can get! At Crab Central and throughout the grounds the bounty from 15 local and regional restaurants provides visitors with great eating from  crab cakes, crab enchiladas and crab Rangoon to grilled wild salmon, northwest paella, grilled scallops and much, much more!  The bounty...and the flavors...are endless! There are hours of live music, plus Olympic Peninsula wines, Northwest microbrews, and the Peninsula’s own Bedford Sodas.

The Gateway Center

The Gateway Center is home to the Chef Demonstration Stage, featuring on-going cooking demonstrations by outstanding local and regional chefs, our outdoor wine garden, more food booths, and exhibits.

Crab Revival

The Crab Revival is Sunday morning from 9am-10:30am. A non-denominational service will be led by Michael Rivers, featuring gospel music from the Peninsula Men’s Gospel Singers and other local musicians. A delicious breakfast will complete this spiritual and uplifting start to Sunday!

Fun For Families!

“Get crabbing” during the Grab-A-Crab Tank Derby, Saturday from 10am-5pm, and Sunday from 10am-4pm!  Located on the Port Angeles Pier, the entire family can participate in this unorthodox derby by crabbing from large holding tanks using crab snares and bait.  The $5 entry fee allows participants to crab for 10 minutes, no license or gear needed.  Festival volunteers will be on hand to demonstrate how to catch, cook and clean the famous crustaceans. Purchase whole crabs to take home cooked or uncooked. There will be family friendly food and entertainment on the Pier and the Feiro Marine Science Center will be open with hands-on educational experiences and children’s activities.

U.S. Coast Guard Air-Sea Rescue Demonstration

The U.S. Coast Guard and Air Station Port Angeles play a very important role in securing the northern border and thousands of miles of Pacific NW coastline. The Coast Guard will perform an air-sea rescue demonstration showing the skills of the helicopter crew and divers on Saturday and Sunday at 2pm, just off the City Pier.  

On the Pier - Juried Crafts Show

On the Pier there will be more than 60 booths with a juried crafts show, merchants with food related products, and nonprofit groups emphasizing environmental issues.  

Sports

The Peninsula College Athletic Department is a great Crabfest partner. The Crabfest 5-K Fun Run/Walk with proceeds supporting the women’s basketball program, will take place on Saturday. The Crabfest Sand Volleyball Tournament will take place on Hollywood Beach on Saturday and Sunday. And -- when you get the crabs you caught in the Grab a Crab Derby cleaned and packed to go, the men’s basketball team does the work and proceeds go to their travel fund. Every night the soccer team cleans Crab Central, a very important job!

Buy “Crab To Go” Throughout the Festival

You can purchase fresh cooked chilled and cleaned crab to take home or back to your local accommodations on the Pier next to the Crab Derby throughout the Festival.

Our Sponsors

You cannot have a successful community event unless the community itself takes a leadership role. Our local sponsors play a huge role in Crabfest each year. Sponsors of the 2012 event include:

Presenting Sponsors

7 Cedars Casino Properties, Peninsula Daily News, Red Lion Hotel Port Angeles, Westport Shipyard, Inc.

Major Sponsors         

Air Flo, Black Ball Ferry Line, CHEK, Columbia Bank, , D A Davidson & Co Dungeness Line, Ferrelgas, First Federal, High Tide Seafood, Irwin Dental Center, Jefferson Healthcare, Jim's Pharmacy,

KONP 1450, Nash’s Organic Produce, Olypen, Olympic Cellars, Olympic Culinary Loop, Olympic Peninsulas Visitors Bureau, Olympic Peninsula Wineries, Olympic Restaurant Equipment Inc., Next Door Gastropub, Sunny Farms, Swain's, The Cedars at Dungeness, Wilder Auto Center

Official Sponsors

Bedford Sodas, Bella Italia, Birchhill Enterprises LLC, Burwell & Wolfe, Fish Brewing Company, Kokopelli Grill, KONP 1450, Landing Mall, Leavenworth Biers, Necessities and Temptations, North Olympic Peninsula Skills Center, Olympic Distributing, Pike Brewing Company, Swain's General Store, Talking Rain Water, Togas Soup House, Wine on the Waterfront

Supporting Sponsors

Blake Sand & Gravel, Budget Car & Truck Rentals, Dairy Fresh, Food Services of America, Monte English Self Storage, Nor'Wester Rotary, Pen-Print, Port Angeles Downtown Association    

Getting Here

There are several ways to get to Port Angeles: Drive route 101 to Port Angeles; fly Kenmore Air Express with connections to SeaTac and the world; and visitors from Canada will find special packages on the Coho Ferry from Victoria, which docks right next to the Festival!

Information

The Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival is produced by Olympic Peninsula Celebrations, and the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce.

For more information including transportation, accommodations, directions and the detailed program, please go to our website at www.crabfestival.org, e-mail info@crabfestival.org, or phone 360-452-6300.