Gulf Shores Shrimp Fest — Attraction in Gulf Shores

The festival can be both impressive and middling, depending on what you were expecting. It's basically an upscale arts and crafts show. There are food vendors grouped at the east and west ends, each with a nearby sound stage. If you're going for the food, you won't be disappointed in the extensive variety and high quality. But be advised that it is priced accordingly - and some vendors don't post their prices - so be prepared to ask first. I declined a "Fried Seafood Platter" for $45. There's a variety of musical entertainment throughout the day and evening, ranging from inspirational to country rock to funkadelic. If you think you'll want to watch and listen for a while, consider bringing your own chairs to ensure you have a place to sit after meandering around eight acres. The majority of the festival grounds accommodate arts and crafts booths. There is the unique (a stunning $3,800 wood sculpture) and the mundane (racks of everyday sunglasses). You're sure to see many high quality, artistic, and original works. And there are a few pretty good "deals", like the colorful pre-shrunk Alabama coast-theme T-shirts I bought (3 for $25). I'd say it's unlikely you'll leave without buying something that catches your eye. One festival shortcoming is the website. The shuttle stops are designated by name, city, and sometimes an address.Yet a simple map would mitigate the need for visitors to search for the locations and directions. Numerous road closures during the event are conspicuously omitted. Parking, shuttles, and traffic can be frustrating for those who fail to plan in advance. Similarly, there's no layout of the festival grounds. First-time visitors will be relegated to some wandering to get their bearings. The crowds can be packed at times, making for slow-going along the sidewalks. Still, most of the visitors seem happy and content, or at least accepting. But there are some who are disappointed and disgruntled. I live in Orange Beach and attend this annual festival every 3 or 4 years. All in all, the Shrimpfest has been about 1/3 delightful, 1/3 okay,...

we moved here a year ago we had vacationed in Pensacola and we're planning to move their but ended up here so glad we did now we get to enjoy all the events such as this one coming from a family of 5 with limited funds we had a great time the kids enjoyed dinner they got free snowcones popcorn and face painting from the church tent we got a $12 mug of tea which was $1 for refills for life definitely a great deal and free concerts we spent less than $100 for our family and had a great time would have been less had we found the tea sooner as $3 drinks add up quick but still worth it as the money went to our local school groups definitely do the shuttle instead of parking it was way less expensive only $5 per person must be over 5 yrs old or pay $20 plus dollar to park the shuttle is provided by local school district my kids paid $8 for huge corn dogs and I got 2 lbs of peel and eat shrimp from rouses tent for $15 it feed 2 of us we can't wait till next yr my son got to meet Eric Durrance from tobacco Rd band and got a drum stick from Trent Tomlinson it was...

PROS: Lots of great arts & crafts, and good music. CONS: Lots of ridiculously overpriced food, no seating, and lousy transportation. $9 for a plate of homemade potato chips and $25 for one Crab Cake and 2 sides. Now if there had actually been somewhere to sit under cover or even in the sun, then maybe those prices would have been easier to swallow. In addition, there were no places to sit at either stage. People had to bring their own lawn chairs or sit directly on the lawn. How hard would it have been to had some bleachers at the stages and some folding tables and chairs for people to be able to sit down and eat? Lastly, because school buses were used in lieu of the BRATS vehicles, there was a gap in service and no transportation ran today (Thursday) between 2 - 4:30. I didn't learn of this until 1:00 when we were being dropped off. I had my elderly mother with me and there was no place to sit down except for the few benches along the beach. Very...