How To for Sept. 27, 2015: Go big or go home at shrimp festival
Peel on over to the Beaufort Shrimp Festival for one giant party this weekend. The annual event, produced by Main Street Beaufort, USA, is from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park.
Fifteen local restaurants also will create their best shrimp dishes and compete for a top award and bragging rights. A shrimp heading contest for adults and a shrimp peeling competitions for kids will take center stage on Saturday afternoon.
A 5K bridge run/walk is scheduled for 8 a.m. Saturday, followed by a race for children race on Bay and Newcastle streets. Saturday's activities also include the Sea Island Rotary Club's charity shrimp race, where 5,000 rubber floating shrimp will be dropped in the Beaufort River adjacent to Waterfront Park.
WHEN: 6 to 10 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
WHERE: Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, 1010 Bay St.
COST: Admission is free. Concessions sold separately.
DETAILS: To register for the 5K Bridge Run/Walk go to beaufortshrimpfestival.com or call 843-525-6644.
SATURDAY
Here's a contest that is easy on the taste buds. It's at the Burgers and Brew Festival, where local restaurants cook their best sliders and compete for your vote.
The Island Recreation Center festival is from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Shelter Cove Community Park, 39 Shelter Cove Lane, Hilton Head. Sliders can be beef, chicken, pork or seafood so there's something for everyone. Those of legal age also have the chance to taste 20 different brews.
Young ones will have a special kids' zone and college football fans will have a viewing area with a big-screen TV.
Admission is $6 (children 10 and under are free). Concessions and activities sold separately.
THURSDAY-SUNDAY
Get ready to say "wow" about every other second at the Professional Tennis Registry Wheelchair Championships. The competition features about 100 players from 12 countries who will compete at Chaplin Community Park (top players) and Hilton Head Motorcoach Resort, 133 Arrow Rd. (recreational division).
The annual event kicks off 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday with a Run/Roll tournament, where local tennis players can team with a wheelchair player. Wheelchair competition is all day Thursday through Sunday.
Those interested in volunteering should contact Paige Payne at Paige@ptrtennis.org or 843-785-7244.
Be active
Instead of taking a leisurely walk on the beach, take a meaningful walk on the beach at the Zonta Club of Hilton Head Island's Take A Stand in the Sand -- Say No to Violence Against Women event.
The one-mile group beach walk is at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Coligny Beach Park, 1 S. Forest Beach Drive. Registration for the free event begins at 6 p.m.
A closing candlelight vigil will feature guests representing Citizens Opposed to Domestic Abuse (CODA), Hope Haven of the Lowcountry and the Lowcountry Coalition Against Human Trafficking (LCAHT).
How I connect
John Turley,
volunteer at the Professional Tennis Registry Wheelchair Championships
"The wheelchair tennis players who come to the PTR championships are amazing athletes. Their sport requires much more arm strength and ball anticipation than able-bodied tennis. Getting to know the players, officials and other volunteers at this world-class event is a privilege -- not to mention a lot of fun."
This story was originally published September 27, 2015 at 8:50 PM with the headline "How To for Sept. 27, 2015: Go big or go home at shrimp festival."