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About The Columbia press. (Astoria, Or.) 1949-current | View Entire Issue (April 20, 2018)
Special pull-out section in T T HE OLUMBIA P ress he C C olumbia P ress 5 2018 festival to draw the crowds and some great seafood and wine B y C indy y ingst The Columbia Press Thousands of people flood the North Coast each year -- filling hotels, campgrounds and restaurants – as part of the annual Astoria-Warren- ton Crab, Seafood and Wine Festival. “Crabfest” is the region’s biggest festival and, perhaps, its biggest money-maker. Nearly 300 people volun- teer to staff shifts doing ev- erything from taking tickets and coordinating parking to guarding emergency exits. A dozen service groups tackle some of the hardest jobs – emptying trash, cleaning up afterward – for a share of the proceeds. “It’s a pretty big event for a lot of different groups,” said Kelsey Balensifer, event co- ordinator for the chamber of commerce. “We’re really proud of the whole commu- Courtesy Astoria-Warrenton Chamber An Astoria Rotary Club volunteer passes out a crab dinner plate. It is the club’s biggest fund-raiser of the year. nity coming out and being a part of it. We wouldn’t be able to do this without com- munity support.” The hotels are filled. There’s hardly a seat at local restau- Finding the best and freshest seafood at the festival The Columbia Press A festival that celebrates the best of the Northwest ought to have some great seafood. And the Crab, Wine and Seafood Festival doesn’t dis- appoint. Astoria Rotary Club offers full- and half-crab dinners, along with several sides, in the main event hall. Most of the other food ven- dors can be found in the food tent, including the Astoria Clowns with their shrimp or crab melts, and the Willapa “We’ve always got some new tricks up our sleeves as far as vendors go,” she said. • Where to get the This year’s new vendors in- best seafood (be- clude Saucy Minx BBQ, Erik low) Swenson Woodworks, No- • Your guide to en- mad Leather, a vendor selling tertainment (back children’s books and Mug- page) wump, which repurposes old • Craft and food ven- maps, books and records into dors (inside) wallets and purses. • Getting to the festi- But it is the food and wine val (Inside) that makes this festival stand out. rants. Downtown Astoria will There are 160 craft and be packed with shoppers. goods vendors plus 60 North- “This is so important to the west wine and alcohol sellers. business community,” Balen- sifer said. “We really feel like it’s a good economic driver.” As with most fairs and fes- tivals, there will be top-notch entertainment and a variety of vendors. In this section Harbor Chamber of Com- merce with its oyster booth. “Almost all offer some sort of seafood option,” said Kelsey Balensifer, event orga- nizer for the Astoria-Warren- ton Area Chamber of Com- merce. Pacific Crab Company will have chowder plus crab and shrimp Rangoon. Café de la Rue has hand- held puff pastry pockets, in- cluding lemon-dill salmon (Balensifer’s favorite) and dill-dijon crab. Bell Buoy of Seaside will have a variety of seafood of- ferings. There’s even an option if you don’t want to eat seafood, but wouldn’t mind looking at it. Fred Meyer, the event’s presenting sponsor, will have a big booth just inside the main entry with seafood items most shoppers don’t ordinarily see or consider, Balensifer said. These could include octo- pus, big ugly fish and more.
