Rain no match for Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival enthusiasts as thousands turn out in Port Angeles despite weather; events continue today

I joined the happy weekend throng

Content as it moved me along

Through scenes of art and sounds of song

At City Pier.

All the crabs were on the boil

Delighting every boy and goyl

While grown-ups set aside their toil

To quaff a beer.

All hail the noble Dungeness!

Despite your crusty ugliness,

For succulence and tenderness

You have no peer.

PORT ANGELES — Hoods went up, hats went on and some folks even flouted local custom and shamelessly unfurled umbrellas.

Besides their wet-weather gear, thousands of people still crowded downtown Saturday for the 14th annual Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival, which will continue from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. today.

It was the “Dungeness” event for most visitors. But volunteers wore misprinted T-shirts that proclaimed it was the “Dungenous” festival.

Scott Nagel, the event’s executive director, said he’d missed the misprint when he proofread the logo at 2 a.m. one night.

Although they weren’t for sale, he said, they’d doubtless become collectors’ items.

Whatever the spelling, it was the seafood folks were after.

“We were totally full at noon when we opened, and we were wondering, ‘How are the Canadians going to get in?’ because a thousand people just arrived on the Coho,” Nagel said early Saturday afternoon.

“Fortunately, most of them went to the crafts area for a while, and now we have a good line.”

Diners will consume 9,000 crab before the weekend ends, he said, seven bins of corn on the cob and an immeasurable quantity of cole slaw.

Some patrons found their way to the 700 seats inside the main tent. Others carried plates across Lincoln Street to eat while they watched chefs’ demonstrations in The Gateway pavilion. Still others simply stood where they could find shelter from the rain to eat.

The wetness didn’t bother Don McClellan, who rode the MV Coho from Victoria for the day and the feast — skipping Canadian Thanksgiving Day for Crab Fest.

“When you come over here,” he said, “you’re used to the weather.”

For Jennifer Yarish and Scott Featherstone, it was a reprise of last year’s voyage from Victoria.

“This is the second year in a row for us,” Featherstone said.

“We couldn’t miss it this year. We’re going to come again next year.”

Kate Franchimon of Tulalip, who fashions drums and containers from gourds, said she’d nearly sold out her inventory of 14 drums that uncannily mimic rolling thunder.

“I like it here,” she said in her booth at the arts and crafts area. She’d shown her wares last year and said she’d come again.

“I like the people, and the weather doesn’t seem to bother anybody.”

Only one of the people questioned at random at the festival said he was “unimpressed” because of too little shelter and too long a line to buy dinner. He said he was from Canada and declined to give his name.

But when she overheard his comments, Jane Vanderhoof of Port Angeles spoke up for the event and for the weather.

“I came for the crab,” she said, “and it’s nice that we’re getting some rain.”

Crab Fest attracted one couple from Pennsylvania who flew across the country for the event, a pair of people from California and a couple from Nova Scotia who’d brought along their own lobster crackers, Nagel said.

As for the weather, he said, “yesterday was fantastic, and tomorrow’s supposed to be beautiful.”

Dungeness crab devotees, however, might never notice.

You may look funny with as you scuttle,

But you taste great with melted buttle

Deliciousness both sweet and subtle;

Crab we revere.

This morning dawns another day

At Crab Fest yet to feast and play;

In Port Angeles I think I’ll stay

Until this time next year.

I’m grateful you’ve endured my verse;

I know if it gets any worse