🎙️ Talking Treasures | Episode [6] — Shell Yeah, It's Festival Season!

The 44th Annual World Famous Blue Crab Festival

Get ready, Grand Strand — one of the Southeast's most beloved traditions is back, and we're diving in claws first!

On this episode of Talking Treasures, we're spotlighting the crown jewel of the South Carolina coast: the 44th Annual World Famous Blue Crab Festival, held along the Historic Little River Waterfront in Little River, South Carolina — one of the largest and most beloved festivals in the Southeast. 

What began in 1981 as a small waterfront gathering has grown into a premier event that draws visitors from all over the region.  Forty-four years later, it's not just a festival — it's a full-blown tradition, with families planning their vacations around it year after year.

This two-day, rain-or-shine celebration brings together over 250 vendors showcasing their talents, food, and community spirit, with live entertainment, a children's area, fine art and craft vendors, specialty foods, and of course — spectacular seafood. 

With attendance topping more than 50,000 people and a reputation as the Best Annual Event/Festival on the Grand Strand — an honor awarded by Sun News readers for multiple consecutive years  — this is one for the bucket list.

Whether you're a lifelong local or discovering Little River for the first time, the Blue Crab Festival is where Southern hospitality, coastal culture, and community pride come together in the most delicious way possible.

Tune in as we uncover everything you need to know before you go — the food, the fun, the history, and the hidden gems that make this festival truly world famous.

🦀 Don't miss it. Don't miss us. This is Talking Treasures.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to our next episode of Talkin' Treasures with the Little River Chamber of Commerce. I am Scott Richards Jennifer. Yes. We have a special guest today.

SPEAKER_02 0:11

I do have a we do, excuse me. Yeah, we have a special guest today, Nicole Taylor, who is our events and programs manager for the Little River Chamber. Because guess what, folks? It's festival season and we're gearing up for the 44th world annual world famous Blue Crab Festival coming up the uh third weekend in May. Lots to do and lots to get ready for.

SPEAKER_00 0:38

Yeah, it seems like we're we're early, but it's not.

SPEAKER_02 0:42

But it's not, right.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

Because it these things don't just happen overnight, do they?

SPEAKER_02 0:45

No, they don't. Not a festival of this magnitude that's been such a wonderful tradition in Little River for many, many years.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

Yeah, I want you to go back to the beginning because I've watched it changed. I've watched it change over the years. Talk us through the history of the Blue Crab Festival, kind of the highs and lows.

SPEAKER_02 1:04

Okay, well, it started with a group of w of our historic waterfront business owners who wanted to get together and um provide a reason for people to come and visit Little River, and they chose to do a festival, an old-fashioned Southern Street Festival. Originally it was a juried arts and crafts festival. So you had to have some caliber of artistry in order to participate. And it came off very well the very first year, but one of the organizers noticed that the children seemed to be underfoot all the time and bothering their mamas and daddies while they were trying to do business with the community that came out to patronize the festival. So the next year she said, I'll fix their wicket, and she had them crabbing in the creek as far as to give them something to do, and that's how it got the name Blue Crab Festival. Basically, um daycare for the kiddos.

SPEAKER_00 2:05

And it's a little less than that now. I mean, although there's kids' areas, it's been in a lot of it it has been in not a lot, it's been in uh mostly on the waterfront. There was a burp or two in there.

SPEAKER_02 2:21

Yeah, but we've always had it on the historic Little River waterfront. When some organizers tried to relocate it for uh to another venue for space or whatever, we've regrouped and been able to make it fit in the footprint that we have available, and uh, we're very good at that, right, Nicole? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00 2:41

So let's talk about the Blue Crab Festival. 44?

SPEAKER_02 2:44

44th year.

SPEAKER_00 2:45

So eight eighty-two?

SPEAKER_02 2:48

Eighty-one, actually, because we had a year that we couldn't do it because of that thing called COVID.

SPEAKER_00 2:54

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_02 2:54

So we had to skip a year. So this is gonna actually be the 44th annual one.

SPEAKER_00 2:59

The event itself. Exactly. Wow, 81.

SPEAKER_02 3:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:04

So let's talk about what it is. Nicole, uh, what what is this your first or second blue crab?

SPEAKER_01 3:09

This will be my first working the blue crab festival, and I attended it for the first time last year. She got some great ideas to implement already. Do you like the blue crab festival? I love it, and I love the food. I love all the vendors. There's so many varieties of arts and crafts, and you can spend the whole day there just shopping and eating. You could spend two days there. You could. We have VIP packages now for two days. Surf and turf. You can take the sea screamer over from Grand Harbor Marina and then go straight into the festival, eat and enjoy the day.

SPEAKER_02 3:44

Yeah, so and the VIP tent.

SPEAKER_00 3:46

So tell us about the highlights of the Blue Crab Festival over the years and this year. What's what have we got?

SPEAKER_02 3:55

Wow. Well, we've grown.

SPEAKER_00 3:56

Music, food.

SPEAKER_02 3:57

Yes. So we've grown, what do we have? 286 vendors? Yes.

SPEAKER_00 4:01

Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_02 4:03

Yeah, I think it's the most we've had in since the chambers been involved with the festival. Because there was a few years that we weren't directly involved. I think one year they tried to overgrow a little bit and it didn't work well. So we're very um particular. And yes, we have 286 vendors, but they're curated, and they're um we look at them very closely so that we provide a variety.

SPEAKER_00 4:29

And um So, what type of vendors are we talking about?

SPEAKER_01 4:32

We've got Arts and Crafts, Plant Lady, we've got rope licorice, which is the longest licorice you could possibly purchase.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

What is that? Wait a minute.

SPEAKER_01 4:42

Rope of the rope licorice. Yeah. You're gonna love it. It it's a it's candy?

SPEAKER_00 4:46

Yeah, it's candy.

SPEAKER_02 4:47

It's candy, but it's like ropes of licorice in all different flavors. I think everybody's gonna be walking around the festival with ropes of licorice. Yeah, wrapped around their necks. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:58

You know, I I used to love my licorice.

SPEAKER_02 5:01

Well, guess what?

SPEAKER_00 5:02

And I think it's good for you.

SPEAKER_02 5:03

Oh, yes, of course it is. Of course it is. It's good.

SPEAKER_00 5:05

No, actually, I think I think black licorice may have some elements of good for your your stomach.

SPEAKER_02 5:13

I'm sure it is. And you know, you mentioned about having something roped around your neck. Yeah. We also have Hawaiian lays. The vendor that's coming in has pakaki and um all these beautiful exotic flowers. Oh, oh, real Hawaiian Hawaiian lays, yes. So we're gonna bring the tropics in. Like, there's such a variety, it's amazing.

SPEAKER_01 5:34

What else have you got? We've got some homemade dishes, some resin, glass artwork.

SPEAKER_02 5:41

Oh, I have a picture that my kitchen is gorgeous. I can't wait to see what else we can find.

SPEAKER_01 5:46

Tons of coastal artwork. Which is great.

SPEAKER_02 5:50

And then also food, too.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

And you know, yeah, it's not just blue crabs.

SPEAKER_02 5:55

No, it's not just blue crabs, but everybody has a little bit of the seafood flair to it. If you don't like seafood though, do not worry. We've got plenty of your other festival food favorites.

SPEAKER_01 6:06

Hot dogs.

SPEAKER_02 6:07

And loaded fries, right?

SPEAKER_01 6:09

My favorite. Loaded fries topped with shrimp and onions. It is amazing. Oh all kinds of stuff.

SPEAKER_00 6:17

And I mean, I you also have the turkey legs and the sauces, barbecue.

SPEAKER_01 6:22

Plenty of drinks to keep you nice and cool.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Well, I was gonna say, you know, because you're eating and walking and you're getting a little parched.

SPEAKER_01 6:29

We've got some nice cool drinks, some nice slushies, lemonade, fresh-made lemonade, of course.

SPEAKER_02 6:34

And all kinds of flavors of lemonade. And uh, if you want adult beverage slushies, you can get an adult beverage slushie or not, a kid beverage slushie.

SPEAKER_00 6:44

And uh And then if I was, I don't know, let's say I just was finished with my vendor shopping, and I don't know, well, what am I gonna do for the rest of the day?

SPEAKER_02 6:56

Well, you might head over to the entertainment tent and listen to some great music.

SPEAKER_01 7:00

Who have you got? Well, we've got a great lineup on Saturday. We've got Radio Source starting out, then leading to Trey Pierce and the Teastones.

SPEAKER_02 7:09

And you might remember Trey Pierce, he used to play with the Ohio players. Oh, really? Yes.

SPEAKER_00 7:14

Oh, what was their song? Oh, the Ohio Players. Um Roller Coaster, uh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 7:20

Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_00 7:21

Yeah, we're the same era.

SPEAKER_01 7:22

Yeah really?

SPEAKER_00 7:23

Yes. Oh, that'll be good.

SPEAKER_01 7:24

And then ending the afternoon on Saturday is Fringe Benefits, which we are super excited about. And then on Sunday, Jennifer.

SPEAKER_02 7:32

Oh, we s we have um a morning act that we're still working on, but it's gonna be a great surprise. And then City Lights, and then my favorite. We're bringing in a headliner. For those of you that know who I'm talking about, Scythian is coming to the 44th annual World Famous Blue Crab Festival, and we can't wait to go. I don't know who they are. Oh my goodness.

SPEAKER_00 7:52

Maybe I'm uh musically ignorant. Who is Scythian?

SPEAKER_02 7:54

Scythian is a group of basically two brothers and a couple of other musicians. Um they're Ukrainian. They started out, believe it or not, as Irish pub type music, but they've expanded into uh more modern eras of music, but still with the traditional instruments, a lot of high energy. Um they have a huge following in the Scythian world. Um they they they can book a cruise ship or trips to Ireland with their fight fans and followers. So is it uh like an Irish rock or yes, kind of, but also you can get into um just a they do a wonderful 80s medley of all 80s tunes where they've See that name is like is that like a uh acid rock name, but it's not. It's actually a I think it's a Celtic name.

SPEAKER_00 8:47

Oh, I love it.

SPEAKER_02 8:48

Yeah, and there is a definition of it somewhere, but we're also you know, we couldn't bring Scythian in without our sponsors because they do command, you know, headliner appeal, and um we're so excited to have Vines Heating, Air, and Plumbing as our presenting sponsor this year.

SPEAKER_00 9:10

And restoration.

SPEAKER_02 9:10

And restoration, yes, they do everything. Yep, one-stop shopping for all of those kind of needs, and we are so happy to work with Vines, they're great partners. We also have HTC that always helps us out, of course. And Aesthetica is a new one, as well as the South Carolina Education Lottery, and of course, Pepsi is our beverage sponsor, um, and then a host of other local people Bell and Bell, Um Humana, ProSafe, um shoot for the Moon Academy, Elliott Realty, Rev Park Ridge, Egret Landing, Victory Shalot.

SPEAKER_00 9:48

A lot of support.

SPEAKER_02 9:49

Lot of support, a lot of support. Blue Cross Blue Shield, everybody's coming in. Oh, yes, Carolina Conservation Energy has always been a great partner of us as well, and we're just so excited to be able to work with these people to bring on such a wonderful festival.

SPEAKER_00 10:04

Now, there are people listening to this podcast, maybe all over the world. It's possible. Yes, of course. Where is this happening? So it kind of explained to people, and and last year I was just amazed talking to people that had not been and thought, oh my gosh, that's an interesting thing. I should go do that. Where is this?

SPEAKER_02 10:23

We're on the historic Little River Waterfront in Little River, South Carolina. It's an old-fashioned Southern Street Festival where we actually block off the roads to auto traffic and line those streets, Miniola Avenue, Waterfront Avenue, some of the other uh restaurant parking lots with vendors, like we said, 286 vendors, and it's just a free-for-all for you to come and browse and shop and sip and taste and enjoy live music, eat some crabs while you're here, and have a good time.

SPEAKER_00 10:56

And we should point out there's lots of food vendors, but you've got a lot of restaurants that are down there. They open, and if you're lucky or smart, you can make reservations and actually sit at these restaurants.

SPEAKER_02 11:08

Yes, and most of the restaurants will be vending outside as well. So if you want to just stop by and get a sandwich, like some street food type stuff, you can. But you know it's a big day, it's a long day. If you want to go in and sit down and enjoy table side service, you got the best seafood on the East Coast to enjoy.

SPEAKER_00 11:26

Unbelievable. Now, uh, this is a ticketed event. So, me being curious, how do I get tickets to this fabulous blue crab event? Well, you can visit World Famous Blue Crab Festival.

SPEAKER_01 11:39

You can go to our website, blue crabfestival.org, and every page has a link to purchase your ticks tickets online. You can also plan your trip. You can look at accommodations if you're coming from out of town or out of the country. Oh, nice. You can also plan to do things within Little River area yourself on our website. So if you're looking for some golf or go to Varing Gardens, there's lots of opportunities for family fun excursions. And that website again is Blue Crab Festival.org.

SPEAKER_00 12:06

Blue Crab Festival. And I'm guessing if I go to Little River Chamber, I could find it too.

SPEAKER_02 12:10

Yes, you could.

SPEAKER_00 12:11

Now the tickets are kind of expensive though.

SPEAKER_02 12:13

They're $10.

SPEAKER_00 12:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 12:15

And and you get to see Scythian. I know, facetious, right. Yes. Um, actually, because the the chain this festival is a chamber-sponsored festival. I know a lot of people are used to going to city-run festivals that are usually free of charge, but cities have departments like you know, Department of Public Works that can help you with the trash, and they have you know the portolets that they have a sanitation department that can pull them out.

SPEAKER_00 12:44

You told her the she's gotta be there like at 6 a.m. with the garbage trucks.

SPEAKER_02 12:49

Yeah, that's not a problem. She's this it may be her first blue crab festival, but it's not her first rodeo in the festival event world.

SPEAKER_00 12:57

Yeah, I get it. It's yeah it's a lot of work for blue crabs.

SPEAKER_02 13:00

Yeah, we provide all the infrastructure for the festival. So it to help us kind of offset that and to keep it fun, you know, family fun and friendly and affordable. We do have a ticket event. It does help us too with our insurance, you know.

SPEAKER_00 13:14

And tickets for kids.

SPEAKER_02 13:17

Oh, 12 and under are free of charge. So you can bring the bring the family. And we do not charge for parking. If you park in a festival-sponsored lot and we have satellite lots to help you with the traffic.

SPEAKER_00 13:28

And may I say something about that?

SPEAKER_02 13:30

Yes, you may.

SPEAKER_00 13:30

Use the satellite lots. Yes. I worked this festival for many, many, many years with a radio station, and it got really ugly and frustrating to watch people drive thinking they could drive down to the festival and find a spot, and where can I park? I should be right here. Just use the satellite parking and take the free shuttle.

SPEAKER_02 13:49

Yes, it's absolutely free to park and free to take the shuttle. And they're not just like school buses or trolleys, they're motor coaches with air conditioning. Yes, motor coaches, you'll be riding in comfort, and it'll drop you right off at the gate.

SPEAKER_00 14:02

So that's and really, if you drive into Little River, either from the north or from the south, you'll see parking lots.

SPEAKER_02 14:09

Exactly.

SPEAKER_00 14:10

Pull in, and then the buses will drop you off at the entrance to the festival.

SPEAKER_02 14:15

Absolutely. It's the easiest way to do it. And then if you want to come up, the most beautiful entrance to the festival is um Nicole mentioned earlier, you can take the Sea Screamer water taxi and park off of Highway 90 at Grand Harbor Marina.

SPEAKER_00 14:30

Right.

SPEAKER_02 14:30

And get on the boat and come on up.

SPEAKER_00 14:32

Which is a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_02 14:33

It's beautiful.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 14:35

You get to see it from both sides, the waterfront and from the street side. But um, yeah, this is not a fairgrounds type festival venue. So it is a little um it is unique in the way it's laid out, and that's why people enjoy it so much because it's not like fairgrounds.

SPEAKER_00 14:52

Again, and it is two days. Yes, it is Saturday and Sunday. Did we talk about the dates?

SPEAKER_01 14:56

May 16th and 17th from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. And everyone should know they can bring their own lawn chairs to come and sit down and watch the entertainment and make a day out of it.

SPEAKER_00 15:06

Okay. Bring your lawn chairs, uh, bring your family, bring your friends.

SPEAKER_02 15:10

Yep, and we do have a kids' zone, so there'll be bouncy houses and and fun activities for the kids. So you can go wear them out, let them play a little bit, and then put them in the stroller or whatever, and push them around and let them nap, and then go wear them out again because it's free. The kids' zone is completely free.

SPEAKER_00 15:26

Where could I go to nap? No, seriously.

SPEAKER_02 15:29

Seriously, bring your chair, right? I don't think anybody would notice.

SPEAKER_00 15:32

No, no, this is a chance for you to say, well, in the VIP area.

SPEAKER_02 15:35

In the VIP area, that would it will be completely comfortably furnished by seaside furniture galleries. See, there you go.

SPEAKER_00 15:42

I'm seeing it on the on the website. Yes. All right, the uh the Blue Crab Festival, the 44th annual blue world famous blue crab festival.

SPEAKER_02 15:52

That is correct. And we are excited and we are ready to go. I mean, Nicole's a pro in managing and planning events, and I don't think I've ever been sitting this far ahead of an event and then this prepared. So thank you very much for your service. But also, it's just paved the way for a great stress-free-free day, two days in Little River.

SPEAKER_00 16:12

For everyone or for you?

SPEAKER_02 16:14

All of us.

SPEAKER_00 16:15

Yeah. I know you, Jennifer. You will not be free of stress. Self-imposed. Yeah, but actually, you do very well. It's great. Fabulous festival, talking treasures, the Little River Chamber of Commerce, the 44th Annual, World Famous Blue Crab Festival.

SPEAKER_02 16:34

That's right. Come and see us May sixteenth and seventeenth.

SPEAKER_01 16:37

Yes, plan your trip at blue crabfestival.org. Boom.