PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce and a newly formed nonprofit organization will keep the Dungeness Crab and Seafood Festival alive.
The crab festival — Oct. 10 and 11 this year on the Port Angeles waterfront ¬– was in danger of folding last month when the producers of the event, Olympic Peninsula Community Celebrations, voted to disband itself, said Scott Nagel, president of Birchhill Enterprises.
Nagel has been the manager of the crab festival. His company also produces the Sequim Lavender Festival, which is this weekend.
Nagel said a new nonprofit group, Olympic Peninsula Celebrations, was formed and will now produce the event in partnership with the chamber.
Nagel declined to give reasons Community Celebrations disbanded.
The chamber’s board of directors voted Friday to assist in the management and production of the event, said Russ Veenema, chamber executive director.
Olympic Peninsula Celebrations is now looking for board members, Nagel said.
“We are still working on a lot of the details,” Nagel said.
“The good thing is the old organization is passing down all the assets of the festival, including logos and all the other stuff that went with the festival.”
Nagel and his Port Angeles-based company will continue to run the crab festival, Veenema said.
The crab festival, now in its eighth year, is held at City Pier, adjacent Hollywood Beach and in a huge tent in the parking lot of the Red Lion Hotel.
‘Signature event’
Nagel called the crab festival the “signature event of Port Angeles” and said visitors probably won’t see big differences at this year’s event as a result of the change behind the scenes.
One change he is hoping to make this year is to use the new Gateway transit center and pavilion at Lincoln and Front streets as one of the festival’s venues, Nagel said, adding: “We need to speak with the city to see if it is possible.
“But we are hoping to utilize that for cooking demonstrations and close down that one-block portion of Lincoln between Front and Railroad [Avenue] so there is a seamless transition between the festival sites.
“We’ve simply run out of room on City Pier.”
The event was started by the chamber before it was assumed by Community Celebrations.
Both Veenema and Nagel said that sponsorship for the event has been strong.
“We are lucky because most of the sponsors will continue,” Nagel said.
Westport Shipyard and Elwha River Casino are the presenting sponsors for this year’s crab festival.
Major sponsors are First Federal, the Peninsula Daily News, Port Angeles Red Lion Hotel, Windermere Realty and High Tide Seafoods, Veenema said.
“The Dungeness Crab and Seafood Festival brings in $1.5 million [in tourist revenue] annually to the community,” Veenema said.
It is the second event the chamber board has assumed to keep running.
The chamber took over the springtime Jazz in the Olympics Festival last year from the Jazz in the Olympics Society.
“In 2001, the chamber board made a commitment to use events such as these as a tourism generator,” Veenema said.
He said festivals help drive Port Angeles’ economic engine.
__________
Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.
