PORT ANGELES — Mention Dungeness in England, and folks think you’re talking about historic ruins, a steam railway and a nuclear power plant that lure tourists to the Kentish Coast.
In Port Angeles this time of year, the word means crab, more crab and still more crab at the Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival at and around City Pier at Lincoln Street and Railroad Avenue starting Friday.
Crab? It’s named for the village and spit near Sequim that were named in turn after their southeast English namesake.
Ruins? Consider the piles of shells from the thousands of crustaceans that will feed visitors to the annual three-day seafood fest that will occupy downtown Port Angeles.
Steam? There’ll be clouds of it as the crabs are cooked to tasty tenderness.
Electricity? Plenty of it will be generated by great food, live entertainment, arts and crafts, environmental and Native American tribal education and — just added to the activities — a Coast Guard air-sea mock rescue of a person in the water at 2 p.m. Saturday from City Pier.
Events will take place on the pier, Hollywood Beach, the Olympic Discovery Trail and The Gateway center at Front and Lincoln Streets. Most are free.
Arts and crafts booths will open at noon Friday on the pier, the same time for the start of the Peninsula Daily News’ Community Crab Feed nearby that will last until 10 p.m.
Admission costs $25 for the feast of crab, cole slaw and corn on the cob.
Nine other restaurants will offer crab and other seafood including calamari, clam chowder, cod, halibut, oysters, salmon, shrimp and tuna, plus side dishes ranging from blackberry pie to quesadillas.
Participants can burn off some of their caloric intake at a “Learn to Row” seminar offered by the Olympic Peninsula Rowing Association at 9 a.m. Saturday; at the Crab Fest 5K Fun Run starting at City Pier and continuing on the Olympic Discovery Trail; and at 5-, 10- and 14-kilometer walks starting from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday from the William Shore Memorial Pool, 225 E. Fifth St.
The walks, sponsored by the Evergreen State Volkssporting Association and the Olympic Peninsula Explorers, are free. They will follow the Olympic Discovery Trail, with walkers required to finish by 4 p.m.
For details, contact Janet Lenfant at 360-681-5405 or jlenfant@yahoo.com or George Christensen at 360-697-2172 or 360-473-473-8398.
Live music and more
Live music at the Crab Fest Stage at City Pier will run from noon to 10 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to noon Saturday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday and feature country, rock, jazz, Latin, bluegrass, reggae and original ballads and roots music.
The Feiro Marine Life Center will be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Meanwhile, arts, crafts and food booths will reopen from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and feature more than 83 vendors of woodworking, fiber arts, ceramics, metal craft, jewelry, glass fine art and rocks and gems, plus informational booths of nonprofit groups.
The Grab-A-Crab Derby will run from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days, and the Port Angeles Likes Bikes Corral will continue offering secure bike storage at The Gateway.
There, food demonstrations will run from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and until 4 p.m. Sunday.
Also Sunday, a Crab Revival musical/non-denominational service will start at 9 a.m. at The Gateway, where public tasting for the Chowder Cook-Off will last from noon to 2 p.m., when winners will be announced.
The festival will end at 5 p.m. Sunday.
Copies of the PDN’s 20-page special section on the festival are available at the newspaper office, 305 W. First St., between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. weekdays. Online details are available at www.crabfestival.org.
The festival is one of the North Olympic Peninsula’s premier events both for residents and visitors, many of whom will travel from Victoria to take advantage of special travel packages on Black Ball’s MV Coho.
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Reporter James Casey can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5074, or at jcasey@peninsuladailynews.com.
