Festival honors local watermen in Crisfield

CRISFIELD, Md. – The City of Crisfield was filled with hundreds of people on Sunday all in town for the annual Soft Shell Festival.

The Crab Capital of the World was built on the backs of the crab and watermen industry. So, Sunday’s event was a chance to honor these watermen who come from places like Crisfield, Smith Island and Tangier Island.

All sorts of delicious food was cooked up during the festival like crab cakes as well as soft crab sandwiches.

Local organizers said festivals like this play a huge role in bringing more foot traffic to the area, which helps support local businesses.

“They’re visiting our local attractions, the marina, the park,” said Lisa Dize, the Soft Shell Festival co-chair.

“We had our fourth Saturday event last night so it brings lots of tourists to our town and they get to see in a snap shot weekend what it’s like and hopefully they will come back for more,” said Dize.

Money raised by the Crisfield Lion and Lioness Club will help locals with things like medical expenses and more.