KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Among new things at Crab Festival this year is a covered area for the main stage. It’s located in the plaza right outside the Sun’aq Hall on the mall. A number of events will take place there, including the new Pardoning of the Crab on Friday afternoon.
Crab Festival 2019 is officially opened Wednesday at noon. Before you head on down to the midway you might want to take note of a few changes as well as some special events this year.
One of the big changes is the new location for the main stage—and the new location allows for an increase in the number of events and displays.
Sarah Phillips with the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce explains:
“This year we are doing something a little bit new and that is the plaza downtown, we are opening up, and that is going to be our Crab Festival Main Stage. So the plaza is right next to the Sun’aq Hall. And so you’ll go in that little area. We’re gonna have it all tented and covered for both the entertainment and the audience.”
Phillips notes that several new events will take place under the covered plaza, including the unveiling of the Whale Tale Little Libraries which will soon be popping up around town, a photo op with Kalsin Bear and Patty the Crab, and the Pardoning of the Crab, which is hoped to bring good luck to this year’s event.
And to help you keep track of all the events, the Chamber has greatly expanded its Crab Festival Facebook Page including an event page for each event this week.
Phillips spoke with KMXT’s Maggie Wall during this week’s Talk of the Rock program about a new event on Friday afternoon.
“Senator Dan Sullivan has come to pardon a king crab for us. Whoa, is this new? This is. This is brand new. We are having our very first pardoning of the crab for Crab Fest.
We are hoping by pardoning one of our crabs from the Crab Fest festivities, that we can have a smooth sailing, really fantastic Crab Fest. And our crab is going to live out his years in peace and happiness and the life of luxury.
And where will he live out his years? Over at the NOAA fisheries center. Oh, OK. That was what I was kind of guessing. Yeah, absolutely.
The plaza’s going to have all sorts of events. Lots of little fun things like that. Like the photo ops, like the unveilings, but we’re also going have to have some live music.”
Phillips adds that you can go to the Chamber’s Crab Festival Facebook page and get notifications of your favorite events by joining the individual Events. Or check online at KodiakChamber.org.
You can listen to the entire 30-minute interview with Phillips, which includes a lot more information on various events on our website and look for Talk of the Rock under Programs.
