<p>Nita O'Hara, left, and Leslie Egenberger position a platter among the large display of glass at the Leslie Hand Painted Glass booth. The duo from Portland have been coming to the Astoria-Warrenton Crab, Seafood, and Wine Festival for 12 years.</p>

Spring has sprung and the daffodils are blooming it must be time for the Astoria-Warrenton Crab, Seafood and Wine Festival.

“This is our 30th anniversary and theres a little something for everyone, said Alana Kujala, the Astoria-Warrenton Area Chamber of Commerce event coordinator. Well have great entertainment again we bring in new groups every year.

Friday, we have a group from Portland called The Slants and the lead singer, Aron Moxley, is from Astoria, Kujala continued. The Slants play 80s Depeche Mode style music and Aron is so excited to be coming back home to perform. Hes still got lots of friends and family here.

We get hundreds of requests from groups that want to play for us, so we have a committee and we use volunteers to sort through the requests. We always look at hiring a variety of groups and styles, local and regional. So youll find a little bit of everything, from Hawaiian to jazz, R&B to rockabilly and blues.

Even the Astoria High School Jazz Band is part of the musical mix, performing Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., under the direction of Scott Cuthbert. As Kujala says, If you dont like what youre hearing on stage, just wait for the next group to come up.

1,400 pounds of crab

In this foodie-centric region, the focus of the gathering is still on the fresh local crab, one of the most amazing resources of the North Coast. And Mitch Mitchum, the Astoria Rotary Club community service chairman, is all about the crab dinner the club serves.

We take delivery of the shellfish Friday morning for the event and our target is 1,400 pounds of crab, said Mitchum. That equates to about 1,400 crabs they come to about a pound dressed weight.

Local purveyor Bornstein Seafoods, founded in 1930 and now run by third-generation family member and CEO Colin Bornstein, provides the crab for the festival.

The crab are all from our local waters, Mitchum continued. Bornstein acts as our brokers. The crab comes packed in ice and we lay them out and serve them cold.

The crab dinner is a fundraiser for the Rotary Club it takes over 50 people to put on the dinner. For us its three days of four shifts a day, an all-hands effort. We use the funds to provide about $10,000 in scholarships for local students they can choose their own school. Its a very competitive process.

Mitchum continues, There will also be, just adjacent to our booth, an International Rotary booth serving up whiskey crab soup. So thats another option its a family recipe including Jim Beam, crab and cream.

The price of the crab is still undetermined because it fluctuates enough that Mitchum says, We wont know the exact price until we take delivery of the crab. The season goes from the first of December until the first of June and the crabbers set a price before the season opens. Then about 80 percent of the crabs are brought in in those first two months. Further into the season there are fewer crab available. This year, the supply is down and the demand is higher, so well just have to say the dinners will be priced based on market value.

Food and wine for all

Kujala said that between 15,000 and 20,000 people attend the festival, so how can 1,400 crab be enough? The festival has lots of food vendors and food items and some people who attend just graze, Mitchum explained.

Kujala confirmed, We have a total of 30 seafood vendors. The Astoria Clowns provide the crab melts thats probably the No. 2 most popular item. They get the second largest crowd for their crab bread.

But youre not going to find only crab; theres salmon chowder, oysters, canned seafood, fresh clams and shrimp. Plus, this year we have over 37 wine vendors and over 147 different varietals its the biggest group of wineries weve ever had represented at the festival. Well have Oregon wineries spread throughout the fairgrounds winemakers from Hood River, Southern Oregon, the Willamette Valley, the entire state. Its very competitive for the wineries to get into the festival.

Youll be able to walk around and taste. The wineries generally sell a tasting for $1 (thats about two ounces) and glasses for $5 that includes a tasting. Every winery does it a little differently.

Dont miss Illahe Vineyards, where owner Lowell Ford, originally from Warrenton, presides. (Lowells father, Dick Ford, was the fire chief, building inspector and also a very active part of the community.) There is also a wine competition: a blind tasting conducted by professional judges. This years Best of Show white is J. Scott Cellars, 2010 Viognier; and the Best of Show red, Flying Dutchman Winery 2007 Cabernet Franc.

A new feature of the festival is the Warrenton Sunrise Rotarys wine check service. If you decide to buy a case of wine, what do you do with it while you walk around? Sunrise Rotary will check it for you until you leave for the day in fact, they keep making the rounds to all the winery booths to pick up the wine. Its a great complimentary service, said Kujala, but they will accept tips.

Family-friendly Sunday

According to Kujala, the festival is for adults. Its an event for Mom and Dad to get out and sample wine and seafood. But, on the other hand, children are welcomed. We didnt want to make this an 18-or-older event like some other festivals we have gone to. We think that changes the mood and tone of the festival. However, Kujala has some advice for parents who want to bring a child. Friday and Saturday there will be lots of people, she continued, so if you want to bring a child, or walk around with a stroller, Sunday is your best bet; the crowd is a lot smaller. The good news is that the price of admission Sunday is only $5 for adults (half price). And though there are no games or children-focused events, there are plenty of arts and crafts booths to wander though, all featuring local or handmade wares.

So get out and see what the North Coast has to offer and take advantage of the year-long planning effort that goes into putting the festival together. It gets pretty intense right up to the festival, said Kujala, and then it all starts again the day after.