Corvettes, seafood and art coming to Marina

Clams, Corvettes and crafts are expected to draw hundreds of people to Westport on Saturday.

The 73rd annual Westport Seafood Festival returns to the Westport Maritime Museum grounds at noon. There will be barbecued salmon, white fish, oysters, chowder, salads, hot dogs, corn on the cob, and beer and wine for sale until 5 p.m.

Last year, more than 800 people participated in the seafood feed, said Leslie Eichner, executive director of the Westport Grayland Chamber of Commerce, which puts on the festival.

A seafood meal will cost $20 per person, $18 for seniors, said Eichner. A hot dog and soft drink costs $5, and beer and wine will be for sale at $5 each.

Before the seafood hits the plates, a craft show featuring about 20 vendors starts at 10 a.m. Local commercial fishing nonprofit WEfish will have a booth featuring its popular fish display, where the diversity of fish species off the coast is put on ice for all to see. WEfish also puts on a seafood quiz and will have new apparel for sale.

Corvettes of Grays Harbor isn’t the biggest Corvette club in the state, but once a year it hosts one of the state’s largest Corvette shows at the Westport Marina.

“Last year we had about 140 Corvettes,” said club president Larry Benner. That was up from 124 in 2017. “Our little club with about 20 members, I think we’re established as the third biggest Corvette show in the state.”

This year’s show is Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Corvettes at the Marina draws participants from all over Washington, Oregon, California and Canada, said Benner. “We don’t get a lot of local cars. Most are from out of town,” he said.

The location is part of the draw: The cars aren’t displayed in a field or parking lot, but right on Westhaven Drive, along the Westport Marina. Add into that the fact the show coincides with the annual Seafood Festival, and there’s plenty for show participants and the general public to enjoy other than the cars.

“There’s a lot of stuff to do — the shopping, the restaurants, the seafood festival. It’s just a great atmosphere,” said Benner. He’s always grateful to the City of Westport for its hospitality. “They shut down the town for us, make us feel like kings,” he said.

The event is free for the general public. If you have a Corvette you’d like to enter in the show, the fee is $20 and registration starts at 9 a.m. You can pre-register online at corvettesofgraysharbor.com.

The trophies are another part of the wide appeal of the show; they are all handmade out of driftwood, seashells, glass floats — unique and very indicative of the port city that hosts the show.

Raffle and silent auction items are provided by local businesses, which also contribute to the goodie bags each entrant receives.

Proceeds from the show go toward charities and scholarships. The club also donates funds annually for the Westport Police Department’s Chief for a Day program.

COURTESY CORVETTES OF GRAYS HARBOR Climb the Westport viewing tower and you’ll get a bird’s-eye view of the Corvettes lining Westhaven Drive. This photo was taken at least year’s Corvettes at the Marina.