Organizers Announce Plans to Launch Half Moon Bay Crab Week, "The Big Catch"

Move over Super Bowl. The Big Catch is coming to the Coastside!

Miramar Events, Half Moon Bay Brewing Company and Mavericks Coastside Foundation today announced plans to launch an exciting new Coastside event – Half Moon Bay Crab Week, “The Big Catch”, scheduled to take place January 30-February 6, 2016, to benefit the Cabrillo Education Foundation (CEF).

These organizations have joined forces to conceive, curate and nurture a community-based event to celebrate and honor the beloved, locally-caught Dungeness Crab in the height of its season, the fishermen and fisheries of the coast, marine life and sustainability, while raising funds to support the high standard of education in Coastside public schools which is so critical to our future.

“This is first and foremost about community involvement,” said Nate Rey, CEO of founding sponsor Half Moon Bay Brewing Company. “We want to encourage and foster participation from all segments of our Coastside community in building this new event and bringing it to life.”

Half Moon Bay Crab Fest, a two-day festival to be held in the parking lots surrounding Half Moon Bay Brewing Company on January 30-31, 2016, will serve as the signature kick-off event to Crab Week.

Crab Fest will capture the essence of the exploding artisan food and drink movement, showcasing the best restaurants, wineries, breweries, and distilleries from the Coastside and beyond ... wrapped around a festive, colorful scene filled with entertaining chefs’ demonstrations, sensational live music, educational marine, fisheries and sustainability related exhibits, a free Crazy Crab Kidz Fest, plus a bustling fishermen’s market with fresh, just-caught whole Dungeness Crab to buy and take home.

Organizers envision Half Moon Bay Crab Week as a full weeklong extravaganza and marketing platform for local businesses and organizations to create, host and merchandise Crab Week-themed promotions, special offers and add-on events all of which will be driven and promoted heavily through the event website and marketing campaign.

“We’ll be partnering with CEF and the Chamber of Commerce in reaching out to encourage restaurants, hotels, retailers, merchants and community organizations from throughout the Coast to sponsor and participate in Crab Week and Crab Fest to help build the buzz and tap into the excitement both locally and throughout the Bay Area,” said Tim Beeman, CEO of Miramar Events. Crab Fest will feature a specific HMB Centric area with organizers planning to feature crab and other food delights from Coastside fishermen and restaurants along with craft beer, wine and spirits from Coastside producers. “We’d absolutely love to see add-on events like a paddleboard race, kayak race, chowder cook-off, artist open studios, and fun run attached to Crab Week and are wide-open to community groups interested in organizing them for their own fund-raising,” said Beeman.

An added bonus: Crab Week coincides with the week leading up to the Super Bowl, being held in the Bay Area in 2016. Organizers see Crab Week and Crab Fest as having enormous potential to help boost business and draw visitors to the Coastside from far and wide.

The Cabrillo Education Foundation (CEF) is a non-profit organization that operates independently of the Cabrillo Unified School District to insure student success throughout our local public schools. “We’re excited about the prospect of making Crab Week an important part of our annual fund-raising. Advocacy, innovation, collaboration and sustainability for our students’ success in Literacy, Science, Computer Coding and 21st Century Learning Skills/Enrichment are just a few of the reasons why supporting our CEF endowment is so important,” said Keith Cernak, Executive Director. “One of CEF’s goals is to strengthen partnerships with the local business community and we see this as a great opportunity to achieve that.”

For Crab Week/Crab Fest general information, visit http://www.crabweek.org

For details on becoming a Crab Week/Crab Fest sponsor, visit http://www.crabweek.org/become-a-sponsor.html

Like Crab Week on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/HMBCrabWeek

Follow Crab Week on Twitter https://twitter.com/CrabWeek and Instagram https://instagram.com/crabweek

Press inquiries and contacts can be made through the Crab Week media relations office at 650-726-3491 (office) or 415-999-2428 (mobile) or by email: tim@miramarevents.com