BRINNON — When it comes to popular events, this two-day festival is anything but shrimpy.
The annual Brinnon ShrimpFest — which will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday — lured upward of 9,000 people last year, and that was with the Hood Canal Bridge closed for construction, said vendor organizer Debbie Williams.
At 10 a.m. Saturday, the event that has been around since 1994 will open another Memorial Day weekend with Hood Canal spot shrimp on sale.
The fresh and tasty tails are expected to be gone before noon.
“I know we cleaned and processed about 1,200 pounds of shrimp,” Williams said.
“We have about 700 containers to sell, a little less than last year, but it’s the same price.”
That’s $10 a bag.
Once that runs out, containers of Taylor Shellfish Co. shrimp will be sold.
The event — which is on the grassy part of Dosewallips State Park in Brinnon, east of U.S. Highway 101 and north of the Dosewallips River — has grown popular with vendors, too, with up to 30 turned away this year for lack of space.
“We were full with 100 vendors in two months,” Williams said.
Eleven vendors will offer food. The rest will sell arts and crafts.
Belt-sander races
Popular souped-up belt-sander races will heat up at 1 p.m. each day, with more than 20 entries from the region and Canada expected to zip in for the show.
The stage will light up with local music and entertainment and a Veterans of Foreign Wars beer garden will be featured for adults. There are pony rides and other fun for kids.
The tides are usually low enough during the weekend for easy harvest of clams and oysters on the public beaches at Dosewallips State Park near the festival (state Fish and Wildlife shellfish license required) and the weather is traditionally good, Williams said.
Williams said ShrimpFest T-shirts, mugs and shrimp necklaces go fast, too.
The festival is busiest on Saturday until 2 p.m., Williams said, with traffic sometimes backing up on U.S. Highway 101 and people having to park outside the state parkland lot and walking in.
Flaggers on the highway help guide traffic into the festival parking area.
A pancake breakfast is planned at 7 a.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Brinnon Community Center on Highway 101.
Proceeds from ShrimpFest 2009 will be donated to community projects.
Over the years, the proceeds have benefited the community through donations to the Brinnon School and the Brinnon Volunteer Ambulance & Firefighters Association, Brinnon and Quilcene community centers as well as many other projects.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
