18th Annual Beaufort Shrimp Festival coming up

Main Street Beaufort, USA and the South Carolina Shrimpers Association are gearing up for the 18th Annual Beaufort Shrimp Festival, to be held Friday, October 5 and Saturday, October 6, 2012, at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park. This two-day festival is a celebration of SC Wild Caught Shrimp, local food and fun in the Lowcountry. The festivities kick off at 6pm on Friday the 5th and include live music and several area restaurants will be previewing their shrimp dishes for Saturday’s competitions. All restaurants will be using SC Wild Caught Shrimp. The festival’s popular 5K Run (USATF certified course) and Walk Through History will begin at 8am on Saturday morning. The Popcorn Shrimp Run for ages 7 and under will begin at 845am at the corner of Bay and Newcastle Streets. All require advanced registration.

The event continues on Saturday the 6th at 11am with live music, children’s games and activities, and arts and crafts vendors too.  Local restaurants are present putting their unique spins on fresh local shrimp to compete for the “Best Shrimp Dish” and “Best Booth Decoration” voted by a panel of judges, and the “People’s Choice”, which is chosen by festival attendees. The overall winner will be awarded the prestigious “Silver Cup.”  Also, adults will be able to participate in a shrimp heading competition and children in a shrimp peeling competition for various prizes.

For TONS of great photos of last year’s Beaufort Shrimp Festival, which included a visit by Vanna White, check out our Photo Gallery.

The Sea Island Rotary Club will host its 4th annual Charity Shrimp Race, where 5,000 rubber floating shrimp will be dropped in the Beaufort River adjacent to Waterfront Park from a working shrimp boat. The Shrimp will float naturally with the tide towards a finish line. The first 10 shrimp to cross the finish line share $5,000 in cash prizes and have a chance to win the $1Million Grand Prize. For more information or to adopt your shrimp, visit www.rotaryshrimprace.com.

For more information or to register for the runs and Walk Through History, visit www.beaufortshrimpfestival.com .