Charleston Crab Feed Unleashes Monster of a Feast on S. Oregon Coast

Published 01/20/23 at 5:30 PM
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection staff

(Charleston, Oregon) – Oregon's Adventure Coast just got a little more delicious. Release the Kraken - the crab crackin', that is. This time, the adventures in this part of the south Oregon coast are culinary and of grand, mythic proportion. (Photo courtesy Oregon Dungeness Commission)

February means a bigtime crab feast here, with the 38th Annual Charleston Crab Feed back in its hometown and taking place 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on February 11. This time you'll find it at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (OIMB) on Boat Basin Road. This is across from the Charleston Marine Life Center in the Marina Complex.

It's tons of crab – quite literally - as there's more than 900 pounds of the crawly crustacean brought in. All of it fresh Dungeness from local fisherman, with whole or half crab at the current market price. You'll also get side dishes, and for those who are not gaga for seafood there's gourmet hot dog lunches with sides. Add a dessert for the quintessential Oregon coast grub experience.

You can purchase tickets here or at the door: about $14 to $35 with a fee, depending on what route you go. You can get to-go packs as well.

Some 600 to 800 people attend every year, and it's the main fundraising event for the Charleston Visitors Center. However, it also provides funding to support other activities to promote the Charleston community, according to Oregon's Adventure Coast, the visitors group which oversees tourism in the Coos Bay / Charleston / North Bend area.

As the seafood is taken off local Charleston vessels, Chuck's Seafood will be doing the processing. The group Charleston Fishing Families is serving dessert. South Slough Estuary and the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission will also be on hand with information.

Oregon's Adventure Coast executive director Janice Langlinais said the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission sends in its crustacean emissary Louie: a giant inflatable crab.

Also an attraction, she said, there will be a big raffle for all sorts of nifty items.

“At the other end of the there are tables with donated items that people can buy raffle tickets for, for a chance to win those items,” Langlinais said. “It’s a very relaxed, casual event.”

The presence of the commission adds a bigger flavor to the event, as it's also here to celebrates the local crab fishing fleet – which luckily was able to go back to work just this week.

That go-ahead was over a month later than usual. That's especially important to Charleston, as in 2019 alone Oregon's fleet brought in $31 million, according to the commission.

Oregon Coast Hotels for this event - South Coast Hotels - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours

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Photo courtesy Manuela Durson - see Manuela Durson Fine Arts for more

Photo and below courtesy Oregon's Adventure Coast

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Andre' GW Hagestedt is editor, owner and primary photographer / videographer of Oregon Coast Beach Connection, an online publication that sees over 1 million pageviews per month. He is also author of several books about the coast.

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