To say that the summer of 2010 along the Gulf Coast of Alabama has been like no other would be an understatement.

While condos have often been empty and the shelves at retail stores have been full of merchandise with no shoppers making purchases, many wondered if Shrimp Fest 39 would even happen.

But local officials, vendors and even city workers were thrilled with all of the traffic up and down Alabama 59 during the weekend.

National Shrimp Festival event chairman Ron Kutter was all smiles when he addressed Gulf Shores City Council on Monday, expressing his gratitude and his excitement for yet another successful Shrimp Fest.

“On behalf of the chamber of commerce and the entire Shrimp Festival staff, I’d like to thank the city for their efforts in helping us to pull off this event,” Kutter said. “Without the city’s help, the police and the fire, this just wouldn’t be possible.”

Kutter said one change that helped the event organizers greatly was an extended period where the intersection of Hwy 59 and Beach Blvd was closed to traffic, allowing more time for set up and break down after the event concluded.

As for attendance, Kutter said that while he didn’t have the numbers available just yet, it appeared that the crowd was as great as it has ever been.

“I know that just walking up and down the boardwalk, and seeing it packed and full, and of course, four good days of weather didn’t hurt whatsoever,” said Kutter.

During the four-day event, skies were sunny and bright during the day, and clear but not cold during the evening, making for a picture perfect weather situation.

While official numbers are not in, it appears that the occupancy rate during the event was up approximately 5% from 2009.

Kutter said that with this years’ Shrimp Festival being followed by the Bon Jovi and Brad Paisley concerts should be a good shot in the arm for the local economy that has suffered greatly during the oil spill crisis.

Mayor Robert Craft told Cutter that he tipped his hat to the job done by the Shrimp Festival Committee and hoped that they would continue to work in connection with city staff to make the event even better.

“I would like to, once you guys get your arms around the festival while it is still fresh in everybody’s mind, get our department heads to sit down with you and lets talk about what we can do better next year so that we can create teamwork from the beginning,” Craft said.