The 47th Annual National Shrimp Festival was scheduled to open Thursday, but after the latest forecast predictions from the National Weather Service, organizers have decided to push back the start of the Festival until 10 a.m. Friday.
"We've been keeping a close eye on Michael since the weekend. We had a weather briefing at 10:30 this morning, and the latest forecast predictions put Michael's landfall later than forecasters initially thought," Shrimp Festival Chairman Spencer Cade said. "Because the residual effects of Michael - primarily wind and rain - will make it impossible to complete our setup preparations for a Thursday opening, we decided the prudent thing to do would be to push the start back to Friday."
Organizers realized early this week that Michael would have an effect on the Festival setup, but felt confident everything could be completed in time for a Thursday start date. "We tried to get some tents set up Monday, but we quickly realized the winds were too strong to get them up. Some tents were threatening to take to the air like a parasail," Cade said. "We have hundreds of tents we utilize during the event, and if you can't get them up in time, it creates a domino effect on the rest of the Festival."
Although the first day of the Festival has been moved, Cade assured Festival staff that, beginning Friday, the rest of the Festival will continue on as planned. The Annual National Shrimp Festival™ is now scheduled to take place Friday through Sunday in Gulf Shores where Ala. Highway 59 meets the beach. The Festival, consistently rated one of the best festivals in the Southeast, will provide visitors with three days of music, art, crafts, family activities and, of course, the Festival's namesake - shrimp.
For the more information on the Festival, visit www.myshrimpfest.com or the Festival's Facebook page for the latest information on the Festival and any effects Michael may have on it.
