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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.