Festival honors local watermen, helps locals in need

If you talking about the crab industry you have to think of Crisfield.  It's a city built on the backs of the crab and watermen industry, and for the 26th year on Sunday, the community gathered to recognize the men and women of this all important business at the Soft Shell Festival.

The Memorial Day weekend tradition honors select lifelong watermen from Crisfield, Smith Island and Tangier Island with a Hall of Fame ceremony.

"They have to wear a lot of different hats.  They have to be a waterman, they have to be a mechanic, they have to be a businessman.  So they have a lot of roles to fill making a living on the Tangier sound," said Doug Nelson, president of the Crisfield Lions Club.

The event attracts thousands to the city docks the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, each year.

"A lot of people come on their boats to the Marina this weekend, and they say one reason they come here Memorial Day weekend is to taste the crab cakes and the soft shell crabs," said Nelson.

This event will raise thousands of dollars, all of which will go straight back into the Crisfield community. 

That money raised by the Crisfield Lion and Lioness Club helps locals with things like hearing aids, eye glasses, even helping pay heat and gas bills for those down on their luck.

"A lot of people who are downtrodden and need our help, can't get assistance somewhere else.  We have a lot of projects and like I said a hundred percent of our our proceeds go to those projects," said Nelson.

We're told organizers expect to have raised $6,000 to $8,000, which will go a long way toward helping locals.