About the Festival
About OPCC | Partners and Stakeholders
Olympic Coast Cuisine
The Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival will introduce a new concept in food - Olympic Coast Cuisine. Olympic Coast Cuisine has been developing over the past several years with the infusion of very talented and experienced chefs into the region. These chefs are utilizing the cultural and food resources of the Olympic Peninsula in their food preparation and presentation. The Festival brings this unique concept to the public and provides local producers the opportunity to present Olympic Peninsula products to a broader consumer base.
Environmental Education
The Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival will help visitors learn about the natural environment of the Olympic Peninsula and specifically about current issues in the Dungeness Valley. The Festival is partnering with local environmental educational organizations to provide educational activities designed to create a better understanding of the natural resources and issues facing the Olympic Peninsula.
Mission
Olympic Peninsula Community Celebrations is a Washington State nonprofit corporation dedicated to preserving, protecting and sharing the traditions and cultures of the Olympic Peninsula through a wide range of educational programs, festivals, and special events. Application for tax-exempt status 501(c)3 is pending.
Financial Proceeds
A portion of the proceeds of the Festival will be distributed to watershed education in the Dungeness River and Dungeness Bay habitats and toward other environmental issues that effect local aquiculture and agriculture.
Program Guide
The Peninsula Daily News will be printing and distributing free program guides throughout the region.
Participants and Volunteers
The festival is actively looking for volunteers and participants (performers, visual artists, Olympic Peninsula products). More...
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About OPCC
The mission of Olympic Peninsula Community Celebrations (OPCC) is to preserve, protect, celebrate, and share the traditions and cultures of the Olympic Peninsula for current and future generations.
Olympic Peninsula Community Celebrations is a Washington State non-profit corporation.
A portion of the proceeds from The Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival will be channeled to watershed education in the Dungeness River and Dungeness Bay habitats.
Executive Producers:
Executive Producer Randy Riggins is a retired Army Officer who received a BS in civil engineering from the University of Arizona and an MBA from Arizona State University. He brings essential leadership and management skills to the Festival. A CPA with a tax-based accounting practice, he is also active in a family farming business. Randy is on the Board of the Olympic Peninsula Enological Society as well as financial consultant to other nonprofit organizations in Clallum County. Randy and his wife Naomi reside in Port Angeles and are devoted to the economic success of our region.
Executive Producer Neil Conklin is the owner and proprietor of Bella Italia Restaurant in Port Angeles and has over 20 years of food and event management experience. He previously was founder and Marketing Director of Salmon Bay Fish Co. of Seattle, producer of Salmon Bay Festival Foods and Food Service Manager for the Olympic Park Institute. He is currently a board member of the Friends of the Fields Foundation.
Executive Producer Scott Nagel has been making a cultural impact on the Pacific Northwest for more than 25 years as a performer, producer, and manager. He is currently the Executive Director of the Washington Festivals & Events Association, the Executive Director for the Sequim Lavender Festival and a consultant to the International Festivals & Events Association. As Executive Director of Northwest Folklife for 16 years, Scott made the Northwest Folklife Festival one of the most acclaimed arts festivals in North America. He is a consultant to the special events industry, ethnic communities, and the performing arts.
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Partners and Stakeholders
Economic development and tourism organizations
Working very closely with the North
Olympic Visitors & Convention Bureau, the Port Angeles Chamber of
Commerce, and the Sequim Marketing Action Committee, the festival developed
an advertising plan integrated into the existing tourism efforts of the
region, including posters and brochures, a media outreach campaign coordinated
with the State of Washington Tourism Division, and the festival web site
www.crabfestival.org
Besides dollars generated for lodging, food, and other services, the festival contributes to the economic development of Clallam County by providing sales and development opportunities for the local community specializing in seafood, agricultural, and related artistic products, and provides support for the movement to teach people about consuming and utilizing local products.
An exciting new food marketing concept is to be introduced at the festival - Olympic Coast Cuisine - developed over the past several years with the infusion of very talented and experienced chefs into the region who utilize the cultural and food resources of the Olympic Peninsula. The festival brings this unique concept to the public and provides local seafood and produce businesses the opportunity to market Olympic Peninsula products to a broader consumer base.
The Native American community
The festival's Native American program fosters appreciation for the heritage of the native peoples of the area and the many traditions that stem from the Northwest's cultural diversity.
Vendors and other business participants
From local restaurants and chefs to fishermen, artisans and lavender farmers, the festival helps build and sustain local businesses and cottage industries.
Environment/ecological organizations
Local organizations help visitors and locals learn about the ecology and natural history of the Olympic Peninsula. A portion of the festival's proceeds will be distributed to watershed education in the Dungeness River and Bay habitats and toward other environmental issues that effect local aquiculture and agriculture.
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