By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Shrimp lovers descended on downtown Beaufort on Friday, Oct. 6 and Saturday, Oct 7, to partake in the 29th Annual Beaufort Shrimp Festival.
Ashley Brandon, City of Beaufort Downtown Manager and Events Coordinator, said that they are still waiting on the final numbers, but they expect that more than 12,000 people attended the festival over the weekend.
According to Brandon, the Beaufort Shrimp Festival does not change much from year to year because Beaufortonians are not big on change, but they do try to listen to feedback provided by festival goers from previous years when selecting the musical acts and food vendors.
“This year we had Mother Smokin’ Good BBQ to add some variety, not everyone likes seafood,” Brandon said.
The festival also featured a Kids Corner, which Brandon said was a new addition.
More than 50 vendors participated in the Art and Craft Market and there were numerous food and desert vendors.
Brandon estimated that food vendors sold thousands of pounds of shrimp during the festival.
The festival is held each year to celebrate shrimp season.
There are two shrimp seasons in South Carlina – the first one runs from May through August. when smaller, brown shrimp are harvested and the second one runs from September to December, when the white shrimp are harvested.
Planning for the 30th Annual Shrimp Festival is already under way, and next year’s festival is expected to be held on Oct. 4 and 5.
Delayna Earley lives in Beaufort with her husband, two children and Jack Russell. She formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
