One for all,
33rd annual Crab, Seafood & Wine Fest
April 24, 25 & 26
Hours/Admission
and all for one
Friday, 4 to 9 p.m. ($10/adult; $5/child)
Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. ($10/adult; $5/child)
Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. ($5/adult; kids & active military FREE
Location
Celebrating 33 years of goodwill at the Astoria-Warrenton Crab, Seafood & Wine Festival
Story by LYNETTE RAE McADAMS
According to Kelsey Balensifer, events coordinator
for the Astoria-Warrenton Chamber of Commerce, that’s
t’s not often that you get to indulge, been part of the plan since the beginning. “It’s always
guilt free, in the pleasures of excess EHHQLPSRUWDQWWRXVWKDWWKLVHYHQWEHQH¿WQRWRQO\EXVL-
food and drink, but at the Astoria-War- nesses and chamber members, but the community as a
renton Crab, Seafood & Wine Festi- whole,” she says. To that end, the chamber, which has
val, not only is it encouraged — you been hosting the event since 1982, hires as many local
might even consider it your civic duty. QRQSUR¿WRUJDQL]DWLRQVDVLWFDQWRFRYHUWKHHQRUPRXV
Whether you’re coming from near amount of behind-the-scenes work that’s required to keep
RUIDUSDUWLFLSDWLQJLQ\RXU¿UVWIHVWLYDO the very popular festival running smoothly.
or one of many in a long-standing tradi-
“There’s a massive amount of community sup-
tion, know that most of the dollars you’ll port and involvement behind it,” Balensifer says,
spend during this annual three-day event rattling off a mile-long list of unsung heroes: “The
get funneled directly back into the local community — a Astoria Band Boosters unload the buses for us; the
lot of it right before your very eyes.
Boy Scout parents handle vendor parking; we’ve got
“I think that’s one of the greatest things about Crab Fest,” Kiwanis on trash duty again this year, picking up
Photo by Alex Pajunas
says Gary Friedman, who manages the Clatsop County Fair- during festival hours; and the Key Club (a branch of
Dave Goldie, middle, of Astoria, and Joe Seganos, of Longview, Wash., keep things mov- grounds, where the event is held. “I’ve always admired the Kiwanis for high schoolers) handles clean up each
ing on the legendary crab and shrimp melt assembly line at the Astoria Clowns booth fact that there’s such a wide range of organizations helping QLJKWDIWHUFORVLQJ7KH&ROXPELD3DFL¿F$VVLVWDQFH
inside the food tent at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds during last year’s Crab Fest.
run the festival, and also making money at it.”
League is operating our wine-check service, where
attendees can check the wines they purchase instead
of carrying them around all day, and you can’t for-
get groups like the Roller Dolls (the North Oregon
Coast’s women’s roller derby team), who very will-
ingly sort the vendor
recycling, or our local
bank volunteers, who
handle the busy admis-
sions table so expertly.
³,W¶V GH¿QLWHO\ DQ
event that only happens
because the community
chips in so much,” she
adds. “Everyone gets
excited about it, and for
a lot of these groups,
it’s a major fundraiser.”
“Actually,
it’s
our only fundraiser,”
says a chuckling Bill
Landwehr, coordinator
(“by default”) for the
Astoria Clowns, a local
group of ambassadors
who run amok all over
the Northwest in promotion of their fair city. “I
don’t want to brag,” he continues in a hushed tone,
Photo by Alex Pajunas
“but I think we might have the most popular booth
The sound of a shattered wine glass, accidently dropped by Dave Crosby, right, of Spokane, Wash., provides cause for celebration at last year’s Astoria-Warrenton Crab, there. It’s our only fundraiser because it’s the only
Seafood and Wine Festival. The oft-repeated occurrence is regularly met by applause and cheers from festival attendees and results in prompt clean-up by people like one we need.”
Daniel Emlet, left, who calmly moves in with a broom and dust pan.
No, the clowns aren’t hired as part of the week-
I
‘It takes more than
150 volunteers
coming from
across the
community to run
this event, and 33
years later, here
we all are, doing
it again. I think
that’s incredible.’
16 | April 23, 2015 | coastweekend.com
end’s entertainment; for these three days they aban-
don their costumes and balloon tricks and start
swinging spatulas instead, peddling their famous
Clown Bread to the attending masses who eagerly
line up for it. “You can pick out the people who’ve
never been to the festival before,” Landwehr says.
“They look at our sign like, ‘what could I possibly
want from a clown booth?’ That’s when we lure
them in with samples.”
For those not in the know, Clown Bread consists
of a slice of freshly baked French bread smothered
in the clown’s own super secret sauce, then topped
with your choice of either crab or shrimp, and
broiled to perfection. “And yes,” Landwehr says, “it
is THAT good.” (Don’t think you can trust a clown?
Judge instead by the winding line that will be out the
2015 Wine
Competition
Each year, all participating festival wine
vendors are invited to put their best bot-
tles forward for the annual Crab Fest Wine
Competition. Judged during a blind tasting by
industry professionals — winemakers, wine
writers, wine buyers and restaurant somme-
liers — here are this year’s winners:
Best of Show RED:
Girardet Baco Noir 2013
Best of Show WHITE:
Abiqua Wind Vineyard Early Muscat 201
People’s Choice Award:
J. Scott Cellars Pinot Blanc 2013
Clatsop County Fairgrounds • 92937 Walluski Loop, Astoria
Parking: $15/car; space is limited
Shuttles
$3/person, round trip (exact fare, cash only). Park and ride locations at the Port of Astoria,
several lodging properties, and some campgrounds.
Expect delays during peak festival hours. Service is limited on Sunday.
For complete shuttle bus and live music schedules, or for more information, visit oldoregon.com or call 800-875-6807.
door all day.)
While the festival is lots of work, it’s also worth
it, according to clowns like Landwehr. “It’ll take 10
or 12 of us guys to work it on Saturday — that’s the
big day—but it’s lots of fun and for a good cause,
so we enjoy it every year.” The money raised from
sales pays for the Clown’s year-round participation
in parades, funds four Clatsop Community College
scholarships, covers an annual donation to the Boy
Scouts, and helps stock food baskets in December.
The Clowns won’t be the only ones working
hard all weekend to drum up cash for worthwhile
causes. The Astoria Rotary Club — a charter Crab
Fest vendor — will once again be offering half and
full Dungeness crab dinners, replete with bread and
homemade coleslaw, for what always seems like a
bargain. “We get our crab locally from Bornstein
Seafoods,” says Mitch Mitchum, the club’s com-
munity service chair, “and this year we’ll start off
with 800 pounds and buy more over the weekend
if we need it. The price of crab is up by about 35
percent over last year, so that makes it challenging,
but we’ll still try to offer the best deal we can. We’re
also hoping to have Whiskey Crab Soup again this
year — an old Bornstein family recipe, which will
be great. It always sells out.”
Like the Astoria Clowns, Mitchum says the
funds raised will secure the club’s scholarship
program, as well as support a few other charitable
events throughout the year. About the festival, he
adds, “It takes about 40 Rotarians to pull it off, and
we’ll be happy to be there again this year. It’s good
exposure, it’s service based, it’s fun, and you get
to see a lot of friends. After all these years, it feels
like home.”
That’s not news to Balensifer, who says she hears
similar sentiments throughout the community. “I think
most people consider the festival a very authentic cel-
ebration, a time during the off season…when we can
really welcome visitors and showcase the amazing
bounty of our own region and the entire Northwest.”
Returning this year are some repeat festival fa-
vorites, like inexpensive park-and-ride shuttle ser-
vices throughout the greater Astoria area, live music
all three days on two different stages, and of course,
almost 200 vendor booths — featuring more than 60
different Oregon wineries, a handful of local brew-
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GUHG ¿QH DUWV DQG FUDIW YHQGRUV DQG REYLRXVO\ DQ
ocean’s worth of seafood.
“It takes more than 150 volunteers coming from
across the community to run this event,” says Bal-
ensifer, “and 33 years later, here we all are, doing it
again. I think that’s incredible.”
Asked what she was most looking forward to at
this year’s Crab Fest, Balensifer was quick to an-
swer, illustrating nicely the heart of service that
permeates the whole event: “For me, it’s the little
moments when you get to help someone have a real-
ly great experience — that’s ultimately what I love
about my job. That, and just getting to share this
wonderful location.”
Submitted photo
Bill Landwehr, also known as Stubby the clown, coordinates the Astoria
Clowns to appear in regional parades and festivals. The clowns will appear
sans costumes and serve their famous Clown Bread at the Crab, Seafood and
Wine Festival, their only fundraiser.
Submitted photo
Carrie Cunningham will perform songs of
imagery and emotion from 3:15 to 5 p.m.
Saturday on the Exhibit Hall Stage.
Photo by Alex Pajunas
Ryan Stembridge, the tasting room manager at TeSóAria Vineyard and Winery in Roseburg, sells one of their
13 different bottles of wine during last year’s crab festival.
April 23, 2015 | coastweekend.com | 17