Beaufort Celebrates 22nd Annual Shrimp Festival
Main Street Beaufort, USA, Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the South Carolina Shrimpers Association are gearing up for the 22nd Annual Beaufort Shrimp Festival. Locals and visitors alike will gather for the two-day celebration at the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park from Friday, Sept. 30 to Saturday, Oct. 1. The Lowcountry event features local coastal cuisine, live music, contests for both restaurants and attendees, and much more!
The free festival begins on Friday, Sept. 30. Kick the festival off early by browsing through the festival's Arts & Crafts Market or local retail stores and art galleries, enjoying lunch at one of our independently-owned restaurants or taking a carriage, walking, bus or boat tour of downtown Beaufort. At 6 p.m., the festival officially commences with a party in the park you don't want to miss! Enjoy live music on the Pavilion Stage featuring regional favorite, Deas Guyz. Local restaurants will preview their best shrimp dishes in preparation for Saturday's culinary competition. All restaurants will be using S.C. Wild Caught Shrimp.
Join in on the fun on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 8 a.m. in the festival's Run, Forrest, Run 5K Bridge Run/Walk (USATF certified course), and even the little ones can take part in the Popcorn Shrimp run at 8:45 a.m for ages 7 and under. Participants will begin at the Freedom Mall on Bay Street. All require advanced registration.
Saturday's festivities continue at 11 a.m. with food and beverage vendors and The Arts & Crafts Market. Enjoy live music all day on the Pavilion Stage by Broke Locals, The Bull Grapes, and Steel Rail Express. Local restaurants will put their unique spins on fresh, local shrimp, available to all attendees, and will compete for multiple awards. Saturday's culinary competition is one of the festival highlights each year, featuring the Silver Cup award, one of the most coveted restaurant awards in the area. The Silver Cup, along with "Best Shrimp Dish," "People's Choice," and "Best Booth Decoration," are presented during Saturday's festival celebrations. Adult attendees will be able to participate in a shrimp heading competition, and children in a shrimp peeling competition for various prizes.
In addition to the annual run and culinary competitions, The Sea Island Rotary Club's Annual Charity Shrimp Race provides spectators the opportunity to adopt one or more of its 5,000 rubber floating shrimp that are dropped into the Beaufort River. Shrimp will float toward a designated finish line and the owners of the first 10 shrimp to finish will share $5,000 in cash prizes. The first 100 shrimp to cross the finish line will give their owners a chance to win a car or boat worth $39,000. For more information or to adopt your shrimp, visit www.rotaryshrimprace.com.
"Our community looks forward to the Shrimp Festival each year," said Robb Wells, tourism division vice president for the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce. "Not only does the celebration showcase the amazing culinary scene in our town, but it also provides an unforgettable weekend of family fun, live entertainment and the friendliness of our small Southern town."
For more information or to register for the Run, Forrest, Run 5k Bridge Run/Walk, please visit www.BeaufortShrimpFestival.com or call (843)525-8537.
The Beaufort Shrimp Festival is produced by Main Street Beaufort, USA, the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce, the South Carolina Shrimpers Association, and our fine sponsors.
The mission of Main Street Beaufort, USA, is to support and promote a vibrant, cohesive mixed-use district that reflects Beaufort's historic small town, home town values through strategic economic development initiatives.
About the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce
The Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce exists to manage and build capacity for continual community growth by advocating for a pro-business environment and building quality workforce development in order to enrich the region's quality of life. To support its mission and vision, the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce will continue to focus its efforts in the following pillars of emphasis: tourism, military enhancement, member services and business advocacy, economic development, and education/workforce and leadership development. The Chamber provides business growth and learning opportunities to help businesses be more productive and profitable, as well as advocacy and community development initiatives to build a favorable business climate, creating the preferred community to invest, prosper and enjoy.
