The 23rd Annual North Carolina Seafood Festival

in the Crystal Coast

Provides a Palette-Pleasing Getaway

EMERALD ISLE • ATLANTIC BEACH • MOREHEAD CITY • BEAUFORT • CAPE LOOKOUT, N.C. - The 23rd annual North Carolina Seafood Festival takes place Oct. 2-4, 2009 in Morehead City, with a focus to raise awareness for "Carteret Catch" - a program created to encourage local businesses to purchase locally caught seafood. Festival "fresh from the dock" samplings include home-cooked Broiled Lemon Parmesan Jumbo Shrimp, Core Sound Clam Chowder, Homemade Crab cakes and Down East Lemon Pie. With activities including local bands on multiple stages, cooking demonstrations from renowned chefs, an 8K race, and family fishing experiences, the event has grown from 35,000 in 1987 to 200,000 last year and raised more than $2 million for local non-profits.

For the financially-conscious family, the festival provides a diverse selection of free activities. Fireworks illuminate the skies at night, and the SasSea's Island Playground for Children provides tireless hours of fun for the kids in a safe environment with a fun ocean view.  Navy and Coast Guard Ship tours and the Atlantic Beach Surf Fishing Tournament allow visitors to experience the Crystal Coast outdoors.

Exercise enthusiasts stretch their legs at the NCSF/Twin Bridges 8K Race that launches from Beaufort on Saturday morning and ends at the Atlantic Beach Causeway before enjoying a variety of musical entertainment on four stages. Visitors also try their hand at casting a lure, as fishers rush the beaches at the crack of dawn for the Atlantic Beach Surf Fishing Tournament, or the afternoon crowd competes in the Family Pier Fishing Tournament at the Oceanna. Families enjoy masterfully crafted boats at the 6th Annual Southern Outer Banks Boat Show, displaying top of the line vessels and other marine masterpieces.

While more than 80% of seafood is imported, usually meaning farmed and frozen, the Carteret Catch provides same-day fresh fare for area restaurants, while supporting a local industry that has been alive for 400 years in Carteret County. The North Carolina Seafood Festival boasts the superiority of the seafood they serve due to their partnership with the Carteret Catch Program.

The selection of accommodations range from affordable lodging to oceanfront suites, providing many way for travelers to relax in comfort. A sampling of accommodations rates for October: