Highly trained and motivated rubber shrimp will mount their inner tubes and take to the water on October 6 as the Sea Island Rotary Club presents the 4th Annual Charity Shrimp Race at the Beaufort Shrimp Festival.
“The principal goal of this event is to raise money for our local charities,” said Rion Salley, club president. “Our signature charities include: CAPA (Child Abuse Prevention Association), Hope Haven of the Lowcountry, Lowcountry Habitat for Humanity, and various Rotary service projects.”
The Charity Shrimp Race is the world’s largest Shrimp Race and the primary annual fundraiser for the Sea Island Rotary Club. For the past several years, they have been able to donate more than $50,000 annually toward charity, said Salley.  “This is a wonderful way to help charity and maybe win something in return.”
The race is fun to watch for kids and adults. It is held along the sea wall at Henry Chambers Waterfront Park during the Beaufort Shrimp Festival.
The race begins around 2 p.m. when 5,000 rubber shrimp wearing inner tubes are released from the nets of an authentic shrimp trawler into the Beaufort River. The shrimp float along in tidal current to the finish line. Each shrimp wears a unique number corresponding to one of the numbers on a purchased adoption ticket.
The shrimp have been training all summer and are anxiously awaiting the chance at being the first across the finish line. The winning shrimp wins $2,000 for the holder of the ticket that matches the unique number on that shrimp. The second place finish wins $1,000, third place wins $750, fourth place wins $500, fifth place wins $250 and 6th through 10th places each win $100.
More exciting, if any of the first 10 finishing shrimp matches the “million dollar lucky number,” the adopter of that shrimp wins $1,000,000! The million-dollar lucky number is selected at random by a third-party insurance provider before the race.
Tickets are on sale now and available at www.RotaryShrimpRace.com or at local businesses such as Beaufort Chiropractic, BJHCHS Port Royal Medical Center, CBC National Bank, Bundy Appraisal &amp; Management, CAPA’s Closet, Island Podiatry, Lowcountry Habitat ReStore, Harvey’s Barber Shop, Levin, Gilley &amp; Fisher law firm, Palmetto State Bank, Regions Bank, Sanctuary Golf Club, Therapeutic Solutions, Wardle Family YMCA, Wells Fargo Bank, and from any Sea Island Rotary member.