16 // COASTWEEKEND.COM
Continued from Page 4
Several years ago, McCray
became acquainted with Astoria
Crabfest’s popularity head-on.
She and her husband were
heading out of Astoria, and a
tidal wave of traffi c was pour-
ing into town for the festival.
“We were literally passing
people coming into Astoria
— car after car after car!” she
remembered. “We looked at
each other and said, ‘What are
we doing? Let’s try it!’”
The next year they sold
their wares in their own home-
town.
“It’s been really great,
and it gets better every year,”
McCray said. “It’s fun to see
people I know, and there are
people I see only once a year
at the festival.”
‘It’s the best’
McCray and her husband
have visited other wine festi-
vals and, compared to the As-
toria Warrenton Crab, Seafood
& Wine Festival, found them
lacking.
“Some of them are so
crowded and rowdy,” she
said. “Ours is really different.
Families come early in the day
because there is so much good
food.”
The food, in fact, deserves
its own paragraph.
Naturally, crab and oysters
are on tap. There is also
pasta, tamales, jerky, German
sausage, garlic products, farm
vegetables, ice cream, fudge
and other candies, nuts, jellies,
teas, oils and vinegars, spices,
honey products, Hawaiian
delights and coffee.
“I’m proud of Astoria,”
McCray said. “I think we do
things right here; we do things
well. Our festival is really a
step above.”
For his part, Nisbett said
he not only looks forward to
the event, he plans for it all
year long.
“I’ll tell you: It’s the best
two days of my life every
year. I love it,” he said. “I’m
not a drinker, but I get to meet
all my fans and sell art, and I
just love it. It’s the best.”
S
I
E
LIF
Byran Fitzgerald, left, and
Jessy Ferguson, right, pose
for photos with a giant infl at-
able crab at the 2016 Crab,
Seafood and Wine Festival.
JOSHUA BESSEX
THE DAILY ASTORIAN
experience
THE
ASTORIA
COLUMN
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Augu
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