After serving up 8 tons of fresh crab in 2022, organizers of the 22nd-annual Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival are ready to serve up the seafood delicacy and more this fall.

Organizers say this year’s event — set for Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 6-8 in downtown Port Angeles — celebrates not only the food, aquaculture, agriculture and maritime traditions of the Olympic Peninsula, but Native American culture, art, music, and children’s activities in a three-day celebration.

The festival takes place at the Port Angeles City Pier, the Gateway Center and Red Lion Hotel Port Angeles Harbor parking lot. Admission is free.

Crab feed, other options

Fresh Dungeness crab is pulled from the Strait of Juan de Fuca by a CrabFest fleet, cleaned and cooked on site, and delivered festival-goers’ plates under a 15,000 square foot First Fed Crab Central Tent at the City Pier, with a la carte plated crabs and “crabs to go,” as well as curbside pickup.

The Dungeness crab dinners, sponsored by High Tide Seafoods and Platypus Marine, Inc., feature whole crabs that average 2 pounds, and come with fresh corn, cole slaw and a bib.

Organizers encourage festival-goers to get their crab dinner tickets online at crabfestival.org for the guaranteed price of $40, or $25 for a half-crab dinner.

Advance tickets aren’t required, and the festival will offer crab dinners for on-site purchase at market price, they said.

“But the cost of seafood has caused changes to our planning, and there’s a chance we won’t have enough crab available for on-site purchases throughout the festival weekend,” CrabFest executive director Scott Nagel said. “Advance tickets guarantee your crab. They’re good for any day of the festival and are refundable up to 15 days prior to the start of the event.”

Curbside pickups must be ordered online by midnight on Thursday, Oct. 5. Get a chilled Dungeness crab dinner for for $40. Pickup is available on noon-6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday (Oct. 6-7); there is no curbside service on Sunday, Oct. 8.

Throughout the grounds, 18 local and regional restaurants will serve everything from fresh Dungeness crab shooters to Pan-seared Alaska Weathervane scallops over rice pilaf to Caribbean Seafood Stew — more than 70 dishes, plus a raw oyster bar. Meat and vegetarian dishes are also on the menu, along with local desserts, wine, hard cider and beer.

Live music, more

CrabFest also offers top tunes at an impressive new venue. CrabFest dinner ticket holders enjoy an exclusive $5 discount on each ticket purchased for Crab Festival Concerts at the Field Arts & Events Hall, 201 W. Front St.

At 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 6, the Ruth Moody Band brings dreamy folk of Australian-born, Juno Award-winning singer-songwriter Ruth Moody — a founding and current member of the internationally renowned Billboard-charting trio, The Wailin’ Jennys.

At 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 7, enjoy Sammy Miller & The Congregation, led by Grammy-nominated drummer Sammy Miller. Led by Miller, a Grammy-nominated drummer, this seven-piece band will perform a tribute to the music of 1973 in the first show, and in the nightcap will bring New Orleans jazz bar jams to cap the evening’smusic.

Tickets for Ruth Moody Band and Sammy Miller & The Congregation are offered at $25-$50 at fieldhallevents.org/tickets. CrabFest dinner ticket holders will receive a $5 discount code for each Field Hall ticket with their CrabFest dinner confirmation.

In addition to the special Field Hall performances, there are three live music stages, one situated in “The Claw” — First Fed Gateway Open-Air Bistro. The second stage is on City Pier and the main stage is in the First Fed Crab Central Tent.

In addition, more than 70 juried craftspeople, nonprofit and sponsor booths are featured on the City Pier throughout the festival. Additional Saturday activities include a welcoming ceremony sponsored by the Lower Elwha Klallam Tribe, a U.S. Coast Guard air and sea rescue demonstration, and a special visit by the USCGC Alert, a 210-foot cutter that will be open for public tours, and the Peninsula College 5k Fun Run. On Sunday morning, the Crab Gospel Revival opens the festival.

Also, the nearby Feiro Marine Science Center and NOAA Olympic Coast Discovery Center will be open for exploration.

Sponsors for the event include: First Fed-Port Angeles, Red Lion Hotel-Port Angeles Harbor (platinum sponsors); and Black Ball Ferry Line M.V Coho, Peninsula Daily News, Olympic Peninsula Visitor Bureau, City of Port Angeles, Clallam County and Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce (presenting sponsors).

Volunteers are a key part of making the festival happen, organizers note. View opportunities to volunteer at crabfestival.org.

For more information about CrabFest, call 360-452-6300, email to info@crabfestival.org or visit crabfestival.org.

Photo courtesy of Field Arts & Events Hall / On Saturday, Oct. 7, CrabFest and the Field Arts & Events Hall will offer two opportunities to see Sammy Miller & The Congregation. At 5:30 p.m., led by Grammy-nominated drummer Sammy Miller, this seven-piece band will they’ll perform a tribute to the music of 1973. At 8:30 p.m., they offer New Orleans Jazz Bar jams to Port Angeles.

Photo courtesy of Field Arts & Events Hall / On Friday, Oct. 6, CrabFest and the Field Arts & Events Hall welcomes the Ruth Moody Band, performing folk, bluegrass and gospel originals. A two-time Juno Award-winning singer-songwriter from Winnipeg, Canada, Ruth Moody is a founding and current member of the internationally renowned group, The Wailin’ Jennys.