Festival Details

• The Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival is held each October on the Port Angeles City Pier. The event stretches over an entire weekend, starting on Friday and ending on Sunday. Admission to the pier is free, though visitors must pay for their food. More than 60 vendors sell Northwest goods such as cooking utensils, photography and paintings, ceramics, jewelry and clothing. Other vendors serve fresh boiled crab with locally grown corn on the cob and cole slaw, Thai crab rangoon, fish and chips, crab bisque and fish tacos. A large tent with tables and chairs is provided for diners who can listen to music performed by local musicians throughout the weekend.

Festival Activities

• The festival schedules multiple activities and events throughout the weekend and includes vendor booths and live music. The event also includes demonstrations by local and regional chefs, a Crabfest 5K Fun Run, a sunset cruise, a sand volleyball tournament, the Grab-A-Crab Tank Derby and U.S. Coast Guard demonstrations. Attendees can enjoy an outdoor wine garden offering samples of regional and local wines.

Volunteers

• The festival relies heavily on volunteers, who serve a number of roles, such as assisting in the dining tent, attending to food lines, assisting with decorations, helping with set-up and clean-up and welcoming visitors and handing out programs. All volunteers participate in training the day before the festival and receive a discount coupon and T-shirt for helping. If you're interested in volunteering, fill out an application on the festival website.

Travel and Accommodations

• Visitors from Seattle or Tacoma can reach the Olympic Peninsula by one of two routes. Take Interstate Highway 5 north to Edmonds and then board a car ferry to Kingston. From Kingston, follow U.S. Highway 104 until it reaches U.S. Highway 101, which will take you to Port Angeles. Or, take I-5 south to Tacoma, then U.S. Highway 16/3 to U.S. Highway 104. From there, follow U.S. Highway 101 to Port Angeles. Travelers coming from the Olympic Peninsula should follow U.S. Highway 101 to Port Angeles.

  Port Angeles is a small town, but it has a robust tourism infrastructure. Hotels and bed and breakfast establishments abound, including the Red Lion Port Angeles, a large, mid-range hotel on the waterfront; budget-friendly Quality Inn Uptown; and Michael's Inn, a quiet bed and breakfast with friendly owners. Each is within a short walk or drive of the festival.