The Kodiak Crab Festival is an annual event organized by the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce for the benefit of the Kodiak, Alaska community. This festival serves as an opportunity for the local residents to come together and celebrate the bountiful gifts of the sea. The festivities take place from Thursday to Sunday, culminating on Memorial Day.

The primary aim of the Chamber of Commerce, the Crab Festival Manager, and the Crab Festival Committee is to coordinate a range of family-friendly activities that offer a joyful and entertaining outlet for individuals of all ages. For local businesses and nonprofit organizations in Kodiak, the Crab Festival is also a means to boost tourism, thereby enhancing their enterprises and serving as a fundraising opportunity to generate essential revenues.

The festival, originally known as the King Crab Festival, was inaugurated in 1958 to promote the relatively unknown and unpopular King Crab industry at the time. As the King Crab industry declined and other crab fisheries flourished in Kodiak, the festival evolved into the “Kodiak Crab Festival.”

Although there may not always be an abundance of crab-related food offerings at the event, the name has been retained for historical significance. The Kodiak Crab Festival is an annual undertaking by the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce, benefiting the local Kodiak, Alaska community. It serves as a moment for residents to come together and celebrate the abundant gifts provided by the sea.

The primary purpose of the Chamber of Commerce, Crab Festival Manager, and Crab Festival Committee is to organize a diverse range of family-oriented activities that offer a joyful and enjoyable recreational outlet for individuals of all ages.

For local business owners and nonprofit organizations in Kodiak, the Crab Festival serves as a means to boost tourism, thereby enhancing their establishments and providing a fundraising opportunity to generate the necessary revenue.

Five days of festivities featuring both traditional and unique tournaments, games, races, and competitions. The festival spans Thursday to Sunday, concluding on Memorial Day. Locally, this event signifies the arrival of summer, the end of winter, and the much-anticipated return of long daylight hours, salmon runs, and a great deal of fun.

1. The Norm Holm Survival Suit Race commences with a dash down the dock to don survival suits, followed by swimming through the harbor to reach a life raft.
2. The harbor showcases Coast Guard demonstrations, including helicopters and rescue swimmers.
3. There is an Art Show dedicated to the Crab Festival.
4. The Kodiak Fish Toss competition.
5. A Marathon & Half Marathon event.
6. The Blessing of the Fleet, which is open to all vessels, involves a service followed by an Orthodox priest sprinkling each passing boat with Holy Water.
7. The Crab Fest Parade on Saturday morning features antique cars, military units, 4H groups, school bands, and motorcycles. Kodiak is just a short plane ride or a day trip on the “Rusty Tusty” Tustumena State Ferry. Take a trip to the Emerald Isle of Alaska for the annual Kodiak Crab Festival!

Photos courtesy of the Kodiak Mirror, Kodiak Crab Fest, and Kodiak Chamber of Commerce