Whether it's by boat or plane, people in the know are making their way to Fresh Creek, Andros, this weekend for the 15th Annual All-Andros Crab Fest.
From the iconic release of thousands of white and black crabs, which people make a mad dash to catch, to the crabby games, to a special corner set up just for the kids, and the many ways to indulge in crab cuisine at Queen's Park, Crab Fest is a festival to be enjoyed by all.
And nothing could possibly be better than giving Bahamians a native crab treat to enjoy while listening to the sounds of some of the country's hottest performers. Ira Storr and the Spank Band, Elon Moxey, Veronica Bishop, Stileet, K.B., Terez Hepburn and Geno D are all expected to take to the stage at some point during the June 8-10 event, to wow the crowd with their performances that always prove to be energetic. Sealing the musical deal will be hometown favorites the Soulful Groovers, Foxy and the Boys and steel pan player Francis Henry.
So for those people jonesing for a down home affair, Crab Fest is the place to be.
It is clear that the festival, which originally was formed as a means to boost the local economy, while reuniting family members and friends from Central Andros in the traditional style of a homecoming, has now escalated into the most anticipated cultural event of the year in Andros.
"Over the years, the All-Andros Crab Fest has gone from being just something only locals came out to support, to people from other areas of Andros boating in to see to what we have now. Hundreds of people flood in from the capital and other islands to be a part of this spectacular display of culture," said Peter Douglas, founder of the Crab Fest. "This has grown into something people from all walks of life thoroughly love. There is nothing like this in The Bahamas with all the cultural and natural things that will be on display."
No matter how sweet the music at Crab Fest though, the main attraction is always the crab catching event and other crab inspired games for people to participate in.
"Crab catching is always a big hit. We let go thousands of crabs in the park, and the people go wild. It's a mad dash to catch those crabs and see who can catch them the fastest. It's always a lot of fun."
There will be a crab release twice -- once on Friday evening and again on Saturday evening -- to see who can catch the most crabs and who can catch the biggest crab,
Other crab events to look forward to will be the crab race, crab clipping contest, the crab dance and even the crab bag race. Competitions like coconut barking, cane peeling and onion peeling will also be featured.
Some 2,000 crabs will also be held in a crab habitat (with a man-made creek) constructed at the Crab Fest site for the occasion to showcase crabs living in natural quarters. The educational exhibit will give an accurate show of how the crabs that Bahamians love to eat, live in nature.
And for the children, there will be a crab slide show, nature walks, crossword puzzles, craft corner and crab games like pin the legs on the crab and crab hoopla to keep them excited. A bouncing castle and face painting will also hold their interest. They will even be able to learn how to catch crabs in a kid friendly crab-catching class.
To further deepen the cultural experience, there will also be a craft corner where local artisans will display and sell their works from straw hats, bags, shell jewelry, beaded bracelets, necklaces, handcrafted shoes and Androsia products.
Of course with all that activity you are bound to get hungry, but not to worry, there will be lots to eat and drink. There will be many crab dish variations that Androsians boast they have learned to cook -- crab and rice, crab and dough, crab fritters, crab soup, deep fat fried crab, garlic crab, ginger crab, curry crab, crab and grits, crabby patties, crab cakes, stew crab and minced crab.
And for the few people that don't partake of crab delicacies, there will be the non-crab favorites like fried fish, and all the chicken and seafood dishes they can consume, with of course, all of their favorite sides, and pastries. And you can wash it all down with the likes of sky juice and natural fruit drinks. No matter what you head to Andros for, you will definitely leave with a belly full.

All-Andros Crab Fest
When: Friday, June 8 - Sunday, June 10
Where: Queen's Park, Fresh Creek
Time: 9 a.m. - until, daily
Cost: $10 admission

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