By Ian Briggs and Allison Davis
Elm Staff Writers
Crab Feast is one of the largest annual party/fund raising events at Washington College and in the Kent County community.
This year, it was sponsored by the brothers of Phi Delta Theta and helped support the ALS Association, in the fight against Lou Gehrig’s disease; a disease that to this day remains poorly understood.
The event provided all-you-can-eat steamed Maryland crabs, live music and even a beer tasting.
By all standards, this year’s feast was one of the largest and most outstanding to date. With seating for 600, 1,700 square feet of tent, and 10 Public Safety officers on standby, it was big. Thirty-to-45 bushels of crabs were pre-ordered, each weighing about 40 pounds.
As for music, the local band Blues Devil played some original Delta blues. A beer truck, provided by the 16 Mile Brewing Company, offered a wide selection of beers for tasting, as well as purchase.
The crabs arrived from Rock Hall’s Chester River Seafood, which specializes only in local blue shell crabs. There were also plenty of burgers, hotdogs and even vegetarian options to go around.
In the words of junior Phi Delta Theta brother Robert M. Billings, “There is no better example of authentic Eastern Shore culture than Crab Feast. It is all about being on the river, sharing good crabs, good music and even better friends.”
The brothers of Phi Delta Theta and the SGA worked together to pay for all of the food.
Junior Dom DiMarino, fraternity treasure, set a goal to raise $8,000. Instead, the brothers raised more than $14,000.
Senior brother Ryan Bankert said, “Sales from the day-of were higher than ever before.”
Eighty-five percent of the proceeds will be donated to the ALS association, with much of the remaining profit going back into next year’s Crab Feast.