Welcome to Crab Fest!

The clock tower at Gateway Pavilion

An enthusiastic promoter of "fishing" for crabs

This year was my 1st year visiting Port Angeles' annual Crab Fest. It was a showcase of all that is wonderful about living on Washington state's Olympic Peninsula and the Pacific Northwest! Food, art, music, wine, beer, cooking demonstrations and plenty of community! 

Hundreds of fresh crab waiting for the Crab Feed

This one's name is "dinner" for some lucky diner

The sense of community started with the location and the mammoth center tent. The area encompassing the Port Angeles pier, the grounds of the Red Lion Inn and the Gateway Pavilion were home of the large tent and many the other myriad of tents.

The exterior of the large center tent

The center tent interior

The festivities started Friday afternoon with a Crab Feed! What was on the menu? What are my choices? Whole or half crab cooked to perfection, corn on the cob and fresh coleslaw and your choice of beverages.

This is the whole crab with drawn butter

Some of the 700+ diners served Friday Night

Bibs optional but definitely suggested!

Which beverage to choose...

Some local wineries featured

The live music stage filled the whole area

Saturday and Sunday were when the variety of food, art tents and family entertainment events opened up.

Again, the best of the Olympic Peninsula and the Pacific Northwest really shined. I was really proud to hear accents from all over the world amongst the guests and to offer this glimpse of our cuisine, art and crafts.

Handcrafted copper Salmon weathervane

Buy a pole and "fish" for a crab at the Crab Derby

A successful catch is sometimes intimidating

Bacon wrapped, grilled Alaskan scallop taco

Crab Bisque from Toga's our local soup guru

Fresh crab cakes from Chef Doug @ the Red Lion Inn-YUM!!!

A fine example of truth in advertising!

Seared Alaskan Scallops over mushroom rice pilaf-WOW!!!

Now THAT'S a fresh crab cocktail!

My neighbors Hunter and Chloe with their Cod fish and chips from Koekepeli's

As much as I gorged myself on all things crab and seafood this weekend, I was happy that the desserts did NOT contain any crab whatsoever! They were local, fresh, delicious, region favorites and all handcrafted by Michael at Raindrop Desserts in Sequim. He was baking literally night and day to keep up with demand. I hope he enjoyed the experience as much as the over 1,000 recipients of his pies, bread pudding and crab quiches did!!

Bread pudding with rum glaze from Raindrop Desserts

Local organic blackberry pie from Raindrop Desserts

Lazy J Apple pie again, from Michael at Raindrop Desserts

They even had a "Crab Revival" on Sunday morning in the outdoor pavilion featuring a brief sermon and lots of fantastic gospel music, breakfast foods from a full bacon, eggs and hash browns to coffee and crab quiches were available. They all tasted better out in the crisp morning salt air. I was SO hungry I forgot to snap pictures while devouring my breakfast from The Cedars at Dungeness. The grilled up thick cut bacon, delicate and fluffy scrambled eggs, and buttery, crispy hash browns. I know you're already picturing it in your mind:)

Sunny Sunday morning's Crab Fest Revival crowd

One of the many helpful Crab Fest volunteers 

I'm already looking forward to next year's Crab Fest. Until then, my memories from this year's event will have to sustain me. So proud to be from the ubundantly blessed Olympic Peninsula and Pacific Northwest!

A tub of Dungeness crab

Check out this beauty!

Side entrance of the big tent

Sunset over the Olympic Mountains

Come visit us out here, eat a while, walk on a beach, go for a hike in the mountains or hit the links on one of our many golf courses. As my husband and I say; "It's ALL good!".

Chow for now my friends!

Miss you and will blog tomorrow.

Double rainbow & puffins from the Edmonds/Kingston ferry car deck looking towards Edmonds.

Hello friends,

I'm sorry to have not posted in awhile.  Life is full and busy the last few weeks for me. 

Not much time to spend with my blogging friends. 

Much to share about last weekend's delectable Crab Fest in Port Angeles. 

I will post again by tomorrow am.

I promise.

Until then...chow for now!

A trip to Pane d'Amore's Mother Ship

Pane d"Amore's Original store in Pt. Townsend

Somedays just seem to have a little more magic in them to me. Call it karma, God's will, serendipity or just dumb luck but some days in my life just seem to click better and go way beyond what I would define as a "good day. Last Thursday was such a day for me. I had to go to Pt. Townsend on an errand and decided to go to "the Mother Ship" as I call it, a.k.a. Pane d'Amore's store and baking center. It's where their delicacies are artfully made by their team of skilled bakers distributed to the rest of us through their Bainbridge Island or Sequim locations, your local grocery or restaurant.

Some of the baked offerings

I had that nervous/anxious feeling like I felt on Christmas Eve as a kid, wondering what was in store for me the next morning, what presents would be given.  I wasn't sure if my visit here would live up to all I had imagined when I first discovered this amazing source of baked yummies. 

Gifts, picnic ideas, sauces and condiments

The outside looks so quaint, very Pt. Townsend to me;  mixture of vintage, eco-friendly and art.

Yeast, butter and sugar scents wafted through the air. I started taking pics with my iPhone immediately. Inside, the aroma was more pronounced, almost heady. Pure heaven! The store was lovely, smaller than I imagined. There was a lady in baker's garb talking on her cell at the small counter facing the street. I snapped quietly and intently.

When she finished her call, we smiled at each other. Still snapping pictures, I apologized to her, "I'm sorry if I'm distracting you. I am a big food geek and I just love your store! I'm a blogger, I hope you don't mind."

"You're the blogger!" she exclaimed.

"Well, I have a blog. I'm not sure what blog you're referring to...my name is Darci."I replied tentatively, not knowing where this was going.

"You're the blogger! What's your blog called?"

"C'est Darci".

"Yes, you're the blogger!"

I asked her name, "I'm Linda. I'm the owner."

Now we were both super excited! She thanked me for my blog post on their Sequim location. I thanked her for making such fantastically delicious goodies and praised her for her and her team's obvious passion for their craft. "You can taste it [the passion] in the product!", I assured her. I told her about how I called this store "the Mother ship" because of it's the source of all the baked goods. She laughed, "I call it the Mother ship too, because I'm the Mom and this is where I work". Life was clicking for us today.

Darci and Linda

We chatted for 20 minutes, two passionate foodies who were excited to make the connection. I took our picture together from my iPhone. We talked about her trip to Paris and their cultural pride in creating culinary delights, the exclusive food show she was able to attend while there. We could have talked for days about food and travel but our schedules were calling us back to reality.

My purchases; Seedy Sourdough, a fabulous ham sandwich and a card

We said our thank you's and good-byes. I felt like I had met a true visionary and made a new friend. It was like Christmas, that warm feeling of kinship and pleasant surprises. 

My insanely good ham sandwich

I tore into my ham sandwich immediately when I got into my car. The crusty exterior, the fresh spinach, sweet ham, sorrel mayo, pickled red onions all danced in my mouth. WOW! THAT was a seriously good sandwich. This place rocks! 

Santa's sleigh a.k.a their delivery truck

Visiting the Mother ship was a memorable experience. Meeting Linda was a marvelous surprise. Some days things just come together in such a way that it shocks even eternal optimists.  Thanks Linda!

Here's to unexpected surprises in life. May we all be open and ready to savor the moments life brings us all! Break some bread, drink in the richness of life.

Chow for now my friends.