BRINNON — ShrimpFest is going to be a little bigger this year.
In fact, it’ll be prawn-sized.
A small catch of Hood Canal shrimp has forced event organizers to buy prawns for this year’s festival.
The food will still be tasty, and the prawns will be complimented with Hood Canal shellfish, co-organizer Karen Sickel said.
ShrimpFest gets its official start Saturday and will run through Sunday, but some booths and food vendors will open this afternoon, Sickel said.
The prime times to come to ShrimpFest are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
This year’s event will be about the same as the one last year, she said. Around 8,000 people are estimated to have attended.
About 90 booths and vendors set up shop on both sides of U.S. Highway 101 at Brinnon around mile marker 306.
Children’s activities
There will be plenty of games and activities for children, Sickel said.
A rock climbing wall, bouncing room and pony rides will be available.
Music educator Andy Mackie will perform concerts with schoolchildren that he taught to play instruments.
Other music acts include a jazz band and Boscoe, a local one-man band.
“He’s just a jewel of a person and pretty darn talented,” Sickel said of the one-man act.
A major draw for ShrimpFest, belt sander races, will return this year.
Kid and adult races begin at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Unfortunately, there won’t be street dancing at this year’s festival.
Sickel said the big dance was too difficult to organize, but she hopes additional music acts make up for the loss.
While the food, music and games are the headlining attractions, crafts and informational booths dominate most of the ShrimpFest grounds.
And don’t worry too much about the weather.
Forecasters with the National Weather Service in Seattle predict clouds with some sun during the afternoons today and Saturday. Rain should be limited to the nighttime hours.
Proceeds from this year’s festival and last year’s ShrimpFest will go toward erecting a new sign welcoming visitors to Brinnon.
A location for the sign is still being settled on, but it will probably be on the north end of town on Highway 101.
Other events
The Memorial Day weekend is filled with other events to celebrate the unofficial start of the summer recreation season.
Some highlights:
* North Olympic Peninsula vintners will join with their Puget Sound counterparts for a “Spring Barrel Tasting” event Saturday through Monday.
Featured at the 11 wineries are new wines from the barrel.
Details and locations of participating wineries appears on Page 2 of today’s Peninsula Spotlight, with this edition of Peninsula Daily News.
* Learn about the fundamentals of fiber animals such as sheep, llamas and alpacas, watch duck-herding displays by local border collies, peruse booths full of fiber art and clothing and sample barbecued lamb kebobs at the annual Sequim Shepherds Festival.
The free festival will be held Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday at Carrie Blake Park, 202 N. Blake Ave., Sequim. See Page 8 of Peninsula Spotlight for additional details.
* Blues singer Maria Muldaur will sing her 1970s hit, “Midnight at the Oasis,” as well as other songs from her 30 years of performing since her days with the legendary Jim Kweskin Jug Band in two Port Angeles shows Sunday.
Muldaur, who appears with her Bluesiana Band, performs at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. at the Red Lion Hotel, 221 N. Lincoln St., Port Angeles.