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47

Shem Creek, our town each year

celebrates the history of shrimping

and the stories of the fishermen who

still battle the sea to bring home the

best-tasting shrimp in the world.

The 29th annual Blessing of the

Fleet & Seafood Festival, presented

by East Cooper Medical Center and

Harris Teeter, will be held April 24

from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the

Mount Pleasant Memorial Water-

front Park. The centerpiece of this

free festive event is the parade of

boats and ceremonial blessing of

the fleet delivered by Father Len

Williams, the Charleston Port and

Seafarers’ Society chaplain, along

with rotating Mount Pleasant guest

ministers.

Of course, the parade of color-

fully decorated working commercial

fishing boats and the blessing itself are

not the only attractions at the festival.

Mount Pleasant restaurants serve up

delicious seafood while participants

of all ages enjoy music by great local

bands, shrimp eating and shag danc-

ing contests, kids’ activities, an arts

and crafts show and an exhibit by the

Mount Pleasant Artists’ Guild.

Benefiting from the proceeds of

the festival, primarily from merchan-

dise sales, are Carolina Children’s

Charity and Camp Rise Above, an

organization offering life-changing

camp experiences for children with

serious illnesses, disabilities and chal-

lenges. Both are first-time festival

beneficiaries.

The origins of blessing the fleets

of boats that carry crews out to sea,

often into life-threatening swells

and storms to bring home their all-

important catch, are lost in the mists

of time. However, there is reason to

believe that this tradition dates back

many centuries to ancient Greek and

Roman societies.

The Mount Pleasant blessing, boat

parade and festivities were begun in

1988 by the Magwoods, long regarded

as the first family of local fishermen.

The idea of a blessing and cel-

ebration of local cuisine from the sea

caught hold quickly, and early parades

included 20 or more working boats.

When Hurricane Hugo devastated

many of the boats, along with much

of the Lowcountry in 1989, the fleet

struggled to stay afloat. Since then,

a new threat has arisen from regions

such as Asia.

That threat is shrimp farming –

growing and harvesting crustaceans

under controlled conditions in a bid

to undercut the price of wild shrimp

by flooding the market with product

that has never seen the open sea. This

has contributed to a shrinking fleet;

for nearly a decade, the parade has

featured around 10 Shem Creek boats.

Meanwhile, individuals and

organizations including the town of

Mount Pleasant have been campaign-

ing to convince area restaurants to

showcase locally fished shrimp and

seafood while also encouraging din-

ers to ask restaurateurs if they serve

local or at least wild-caught seafood

(#justask). Their mantra is that

seafood lovers should seek out local

products for the juiciest, most tender

shrimp in the world!

As Captain Wayne Magwood put

it, “People depend on local shrimp

and the blessing means a lot to local

shrimpers.”

They still do and it still does. So

when your epicurean uncle Osgood

from Euclid comes to visit, tell him

to plan his trip around April 24 and

the Blessing of the Fleet & Seafood

Festival. He won’t just get a kick out

of the food and fun, he’ll be part of

the kickoff of 2016’s annual shrimp

harvest!

To learn more about the Blessing of

the Fleet & Seafood Festival, visit

www.comeonovermp.com.

Cindy is a licensed massage

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Call to schedule an appointment.

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SPrING INTO

WeLLNeSS

WITH a MaSSaGe