WITH TRIDENT IN HAND, KING NEPTUNE HOLDS court over Morehead City’s waterfront. The concrete monarch appears to command his subjects to feast on the sea’s bounty. Thousands of people happily oblige, enticed by the delicious aromas emanating from myriad cooking pots during the North Carolina Seafood Festival.
The delightful buffet, served annually during the first weekend of October, seems sent from Neptune’s own banquet hall. Vendors lining dockside streets dish up shrimp burgers, fish tacos, oyster po’boys, and seafood-stuffed potatoes. One saleswoman chants, “Crab cakes, clam strips, chowder!” as the crowd moves to its own chorus of “mmmmm” and “yum.”
With its bands and boat shows, fireworks, craft merchants, carnival rides, and maritime history displays, there’s plenty to do, but festival regular Sharon Lewis of Raleigh, North Carolina, sums up…
