A hungry crowd turned out on a perfect fall Lowcountry day to pay homage to the South Carolina shrimp at the 17th annual Beaufort Shrimp Festival Saturday, Oct. 1.

The festival, in the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in downtown Beaufort, opened Friday, Sept. 30.

About 15 local restaurants prepared their specialty, and North Myrtle Beach native Vanna White was on hand to present the awards. White, co-host of television’s “Wheel of Fortune,” also was signing autographs for the South Carolina Education Lottery to promote the lottery's new Wheel of Fortune game.

Sea Eagle Market won the Silver Cup, an award that combines the People’s Choice Voting with judging on the booth decorations and the food.

Second place went to Emily’s Restaurant and Tapas Bar, and third place was a tie between Southern Graces and Gilligan’s Seafood Restaurant. 

The South Carolina Shrimper’s Association, one of the sponsors of the festival, gave away bumper stickers and sold merchandise promoting the local product, which is often undersold by imported farm-raised shrimp. Several shrimpers were docked for the day in the Beaufort River at the park.

Children competed in a shrimp-peeling contest, and grown-ups tried to take the prize for deheading a plateful of shrimp the fastest.

Bands played in the park all afternoon, and vendors sold jewelry and other arts and crafts. One popular purchase was a strand of beads with plastic shrimp.