The Dungeness Crab Festival

The Dungeness Crab Festival is dedicated to celebrating the cultural heritage and maritime traditions of the Dungeness region. Our mission is to foster community engagement, support local businesses, and provide an enriching, educational, and enjoyable experience through our annual festival and related events. We strive to promote sustainability, economic growth, and a sense of unity within our community, honoring the legacy of the Dungeness crab and the natural beauty of our region.

CrabFest is a free, three day event held in downtown Port Angeles, Washington each October. Our festival is always held the same weekend as Canadian Thanksgiving, which falls on the second Monday of October. CrabFest hosts approximately 12,000 visitors each year, with about 4,000 coming across on the Black Ball Ferry Line from Victoria, British Columbia.

The event is a mostly outdoor festival, held rain or shine - and it can get a little damp on the Washington coast in October! It's a great weekend to pack your favorite rain boots. Festival activities include free live music, a vendor market showcasing 75+ amazing artisan and resale vendors, fun activities for the kids, a live Search and Rescue demonstration (Saturday afternoon, schedule permitting), free tours of a United States Coast Guard boat, beer and wine garden, and of course - food! We sell a festival crab dinner, which is the favorite for visitors, but also host many local restaurants with their best seafood specialties for sale as well as a few food trucks and other outdoor food vendors.

Crab Dinners

The highlight of the Dungeness Crab Festival is our fresh-cooked Dungeness crab dinners - the crab is so fresh, we keep them in live tanks at the festival and cook them on-site! Our crab dinners feature a 2 lb average Dungeness crab, served with farm-fresh corn on the cob, house made coleslaw, and softened butter. We also offer a half-crab option for small appetities with the same sides. CrabFest has to preorder the Dungeness crab from our local crab fishers - more than 14,000 of crab were ordered last year! We strongly encourage guests to prepurchase their crab dinner to guarantee the sale, and to get the best price. Dinners are sold at market price at the festival, and "as they last" - we have sold out many years! All advance orders are guaranteed for the weekend.

Do I have to buy the dinner to attend?

No! We have many other food options, and entry to the entire festival, including Crab Central, is totally FREE! Come down and check out the live music, vendor market, marine education, and more! Bring the whole family - we have lots of free activities for kids and grown-ups alike. And if those crab dinners start to look delicious, head over to our ticketing table in Crab Central to purchase!