How the World Famous Blue Crab Festival & Little River, SC have grown!

What began in 1981 as a small waterfront gathering, the now World Famous Blue Crab Festival has grown into a premier event that draws visitors from all over. When the festival began, it’s main goal was to bring visitors to the historic waterfront in support of the local restaurants, businesses, accommodations, and entire community as a whole. A few vendors – eager to be a part of the new event – set up under the mossy strewn live oak trees, and a festival was born.

Over the years we have added live music and entertainment, a bevy of food displaying local seafood specialties, and unique artists & crafters. Thirty years later we find ourselves a local tradition with families planning their vacation around us, and routinely selling out our more than 250 vendor spaces by March. Now one the longest running street festivals in the Southeast, we hope that all of our attendees have a great time, and create many wonderful memories to last them a lifetime.

In the past, the festival was also host/sponsor to a beauty pageant, 5K run along the beautiful waterfront, Blessing of the Bikes, car show, and more. All of these events were designed to expand the festival audience, and enhance a fun family atmosphere while exposing the many assets of the Little River community to its residents and visitors.

The festival’s success is mirrored by Little River’s incessant growth – as one has definitely influenced the other, and continues to do so. A dedicated and hard working committee consisting of Little River Chamber representatives, waterfront & community business owners, and event specialists have come together to develop the festival and ensure the celebration reflects our proud origin.

As we are not tied to a municipality, we do not receive the public support that other events may have to assist with the expenses and the overhead of hosting a festival. Annually, we rely on your contributions as a supporter (purchase tickets, t-shirts, etc) to make this as successful as possible. While the festival is not intended to be profitable, any profits we may achieve are invested back into the Little River Community.

The World Famous Blue Crab Festival continues to bring the community together, working as one, to improve and support each other in a common goal of community pride and success. We are thankful for our past, present, and future volunteers that make this event possible, and for the ongoing support of our local businesses.  Thousands of man hours, hundreds of volunteers, intense planning, and professional organization are necessary to the successful production of this great event. We’re proud of what we’ve accomplished to date, and look forward to its continued success, with a family fun atmosphere and the cherished tradition that it brings to us all.