World’s best shrimp will be served in Beaufort this weekend. Will Forrest Gump show?
The 28th annual Beaufort Shrimp Festival — one of Beaufort’s premiere events featuring a favorite Lowcountry seafood prepared in a variety of ways — is this weekend at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park.
The festival, from 5-10 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturday, features the “best fresh-caught shrimp in the world,” according to the organizers.
But live music, a fun run and a chance to get your picture taken with Forrest Gump are also on the menu.
Admission is free, but there’s a charge for food.
The Shrimp Festival coincides with the fall white shrimp season, which typically produces the largest catch in South Carolina. Landings of young white shrimp by the commercial fleet usually begin in August and peak in September and October, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, but usually lasts through December and sometimes into January.
At the Shrimp Festival, top chefs and restaurants prepare the celebrated seafood. This year, participating restaurants and food businesses include Signature Catering & Events by SERG, Belly Full by Tyger, Sea Eagle, Cappy’s Farm Fresh, Meg’s Sweet Treats, Tout Sweet, Island Fudge and Bruster’s Ice Cream.
But it’s not just about shrimp. Music is on the menu, too.
On Friday, 25-year-old Lauren Hall of Charleston will perform at 5:30 p.m.
Hall’s acoustic driven, contemporary country music is rooted in her Lowcountry upbringing. Her influences range from Dolly Parton to Miranda Lambert to Alison Krauss to more modern country-pop singer-songwriters such as Taylor Swift and Kacey Musgraves.
After Hall, at 7:30 p.m., an Elton John tribute band, Still Standing, will take the stage at the Waterfront Park pavilion.
On Saturday, Broke Locals, Walker Dean, Katie Godowns and the Parris Island Rock Band will perform.
And, as usual, Forrest Gump, from the 1994 film of the same name, is expected to make an appearance. Paul Dengler, a Gump impersonator who resembles actor Tom Hanks, who played the iconic character, is a Shrimp Festival regular.
Filming for “Forrest Gump” occurred in the fall of 1993 at sites including Beaufort, Fripp Island, Hunting Island and Yemassee, as well as in Savannah.
You can get your picture taken with Forrest and also run the course where part of the movie was filmed during The Run Forrest Run 5K Run/Walk Saturday on Bay Street at Newcastle Street. The route takes runners through historic downtown Beaufort and over the Woods Memorial Bridge.
The rubber shrimp race also returns Saturday, at 1 p.m. Participants dressed like shrimp with inter tubes race on the water for charity.
An arts and crafts market is noon to 6 p.m. Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
More information can be found at beaufortshrimpfestival.com.
This story was originally published October 6, 2022 at 11:33 AM.
