The festival sprawled along the St. Johns River waterfront, within walking distance of houses with bunting and historic plaques on the porches. On one end of the setup were carnival favorites, including a fun house, a looping roller coaster, giant slides and skee ball. On the opposite side, an entertainment tent was erected.
The Palatka Blue Crab Festival celebrated its 27th year this weekend. A Memorial Day tradition, the free festival featured fireworks Saturday night and a parade Monday.
Between the entertainment tent and carnival rides, a strip of vendors ran parallel with the river. A concrete building under construction blocked most of the afternoon sun Friday. In its shadow, a machine whirred next to 4th Day Homemade Ice Cream.
Beauxdeen Davis, one of the owners, said the name refers to the day after Christ’s resurrection. The fourth day, he explained, refers to using the rest of one’s life to serve God. Many customers ask about the significance of each particular day, Davis said.
“Then they ask me what’s fifth day,” he said. “I say, ‘I don’t know. I’m not there yet.’”
Davis and his wife, Laurie, launched 4th Day Homemade Ice Cream in 1995. Davis said the inspiration for the business came to him at a festival in North Carolina, where a vendor selling homemade ice cream could not make the ice cream fast enough to satisfy demand. Frustrated at the lack of efficiency, Davis decided he would improve the process.
“I said, ‘I’ll make myself a machine that makes it faster,’” he said.
That machine churned ice cream beside their tent and has for 20 years at the Palatka Blue Crab Festival.
Wendell Parrish, a production volunteer, also noted the festival has become smaller over the years.
He cited space as an issue. The construction of the motel on the more central section of the waterfront rendered the field unusable.
In previous years, the entertainment tent occupied the space.
Parrish estimated the festival draws people from about 50 miles in any given direction, although locals typically comprise a majority of attendees Friday nights.
Parrish, who has volunteered at the festival for 25 years, said a change of location was unlikely even as the event literally loses ground.
Visitors wanted to keep it on the river, he said.
Some guests seemed undeterred by the shuffling of festival features. Alternatives to blue crab abounded, from standard carnival fare to more localized seafood and the Reggae Shack Cafe in Gainesville.
Longtime guests Toni and Ron Asbury come yearly for the music. The blue crabs are typically sold out by Saturday, Toni Asbury said.
“I think it’s nicer since they moved it down,” she said, after describing how previous shows — such as the ones Ron Asbury once performed for the blue crab festival — were out in the open field.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 5/26/15]
