Residents of the North Olympic Peninsula this weekend can delight in one of the region’s great commodities during the third annual Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival.
The festival will be located at Port Angeles City Pier and under a tent in the parking lot of the nearby Red Lion Hotel, 221 N. Lincoln St.
In the main tent, the scent of the Northwest will overwhelm the senses and call out for people to purchase a plate loaded with fresh crab, oysters, mussels, clams and salmon.
Wine tasting, a beer garden, live music, cooking demonstrations, children’s activities and marine and agricultural exhibits will also be part of the event.
The festival will be held on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Admission to the event is free, but there is a charge for food and beverages.
Admission to the Saturday evening dance, held from 7 p.m. to midnight, is $5.
People will also have a chance to win prizes including a new car during the Grab-a-Crab event.
People can pay $5 to use a crab snare for 15 minutes to try to snag a crab from a giant tank at City Pier.
Each crab caught will enter people into a drawing.
If people want to keep their crab, there is a $6 per crab charge.
No crab derby
In past years, a crab derby in Port Angeles Harbor was held, but sport crabbing was closed by the state Department of Fish and Wildlife earlier this fall.
In addition, several restaurants in Port Angeles and Sequim will serve a special menu featuring crab during the weekend.
The festival celebrates the Dungeness Crab, which was named after the village of Dungeness in which the oldest known commercial shellfish fishery along the coastline of the Pacific Northwest began in 1848.
The celebration coincides with the beginning of commercial crab season and apple and mushroom harvests.
For more information about the festival and a schedule of events, see today’s Peninsula Spotlight magazine in this edition of Peninsula Daily News.
Model train show
In Sequim, North Olympic Peninsula Railroaders will sponsor its fifth annual Train Show and Swap Meet.
The event will be held Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Greywolf Elementary School, 171 Carlsborg Road.
Admission to the event is free and all ages are welcome.
Forks Heritage Days
On the West End, the annual Hickory Shirt/Heritage Days celebration is winding down.
The eight-day celebration, which celebrates the heritage of the West End through activities such as mill and logging tours, a fishing derby, art shows and fish and brew contests, started Oct. 1.
This weekend activities in Forks include:
Today
* 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.: Display of traditional native cedar weave baskets, Peninsula College site, 71 S. Forks Ave.
* 11 a.m.: Heritage Days Storytime, for children ages 3 to 5, Forks Library, 171 S. Forks Ave.
Saturday
* 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.: Annual Fish and Brew Contest, Huckleberry Lodge, 1171 Big Pine Way.
People can purchase homemade apple cider, root beer, smoked fish and brew. Live entertainment will be provided.
* 7 p.m.: Concert featuring William Pint and Felicia Dale, Forks High School commons, 411 S. Spartan Ave. Admission is $7.50 for adults; children 12 and younger are free.