Shrimp Festival, Freedom Fest Coming Up

The Coastal Alabama Business Chamber has announced the 51st Annual National Shrimp Festival for October 10-13 at the intersection of Highway 59 and East Beach Boulevard in Gulf Shores. There will be food, music, art and more for an estimated nearly 250,000 attendees. The performing headliners for the evening of October 12 will be The Voice Season 25 finalist Karen Waldrup and Shrimp Festival favorites The Velcro Pygmies. All concerts may be attended for free. Additionally, the Orange Beach Freedom Fest is taking place on October 4-5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at The Wharf. It will feature the Bama Coast Cruisin’ Car Show on Main Street and a portion of Wharf Parkway, along with a Kids’ Zone with drinks, snacks, bounce houses and activities as a fundraiser for the Orange Beach Police Department Benevolent Fund. Branches of the U.S. Armed Forces and veterans’ groups will be represented. There will be arts and crafts booths, food vendors, a music stage, a motorcycle rally by the Marshals Mardi Gras group and more. New this year will be the nonprofit Gulf Coast Gun Collectors Association’s Collectible Firearms Show at the Orange Beach Event Center on October 5-6. The hours will be 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission for the show is $10 per person, with children 15 and younger free with adult supervision. Those interested in being vendors for the show can find more information here.