34th Annual Panacea Blue Crab Festival will be Saturday, May 3

seafood vendors 225.gif Join us in Panacea on May 3rd, for the 34th Annual Blue Crab Festival. Held annually at Woolley Park on scenic Dickerson Bay, the quaint festival originated in 1975 to promote the crab industry in Wakulla County.

34 years later, the festival has grown in size and tradition. The event is kicked off each year by a parade down U.S. 98, hosted by the Coastal Optimist Club. After the parade, the gates open to Woolley Park... where the old, young and young-at-heart can enjoy a day full of waterfront fun.

crab picking contest 225.gif Throughout the event you will be entertained by live music, dance performances by cloggers, and historic demonstrations. This year's musical performers include Coon Bottom Creek, Brett Wellman, Telogia Creek, TuBuKu and the Leigh Mullis Band.

A long-time tradition of the festival is the Crab Pickin' Contest. Watch entrants pick their way through a basket of Blue Crabs to "weigh-in" the delicious meat for a cash prize. Of course, it is always exciting to watch the Mullet Toss, where contestants throw a real mullet in a distance-toss competition.

mullet toss 225.gif Make sure you bring your appetite to the festival, as vendors will be cookin' up boiled crabs, fried shrimp, hushpuppies and other local delicacies throughout the day. Take a stroll through the park to visit the many arts and crafts on display, where you can buy souvenirs and gifts. And while you are there, don't forget to buy your 2008 Blue Crab Festival T-Shirt or Cookbook!

As the sun sets over the bay, settle onto the lawn, enjoy the live music, drink a little lemonade, and end your evening with a BANG... with a spectacular fire works display... a tradition that ends the Blue Crab Festival every year.

Hope to see you there!

Park Admission is $3.00 Per Person (Children under 12 get in free)

Visit www.bluecrabfest.com for more information.

This information originally published on April 27, 2008.