🌱 Blue Crab Festival Starts Today + HC Plans For Early Voting

Hey, neighbors! It's me again, Kathy Mandell, your host of the Myrtle Beach Daily. Today is Saturday, May 14, 2022, and things are hoppin' along the Grand Strand with Bike Week in full swing, Little River Crab Festival, and more. Bring along your patience, and be careful on the roads.

A peek at Saturday's weather:

Partly sunny and humid. High: 76 Low: 68.

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Here are the top five stories in Myrtle Beach today:

1. The World Famous Blue Crab Festival is happening in Little River today and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The festival is one of the biggest in the southeast, and features vendors, local seafood and live music all along the Little River waterfront. Admission is $5. Parking shuttles are available from various satellite parking locations, and a water taxi is operating from Harbourgate Marina at $20 per person. Motorcycles must park and are not permitted to drive through the festival grounds. Pets and concealable weapons are not allowed. (wpde.com) (BlueCrabFestival.org)
2. Georgetown County's sheriff will hold a news conference on Monday, May 16 at 2 p.m. to address "recent law enforcement activity in the county." There is speculation that the activity referenced is related to the remains found in a wooded area on Thursday near the Harmony Township neighborhood, and that those remains may be connected to the 2009 case of missing teen, Brittanee Drexel. (WMBF)
3. North Myrtle Beach City Manager Mike Mahaney is being investigated by SLED for allegations of assault. SLED said the North Myrtle Beach Police Department requested the investigation. According to a police report, the incident happened Tuesday between Mahaney and a woman who said she felt verbally and physically intimidated by Mahaney while at a meeting with him. There were no injuries. NMB City Council held an emergency executive meeting on Friday, but the council did not vote or comment on the issue during the meeting. Mahaney is continuing with his regular duties for the time being. (WBTW)
4. Myrtle Beach Fire Department's Ocean Rescue team responded to 6,000 calls for help last year and is prepping for another busy summer. The team trained during the off-season and is certified as an aquatic rescue response team by the U.S. Lifesaving Association. (WMBF)
5. With Governor McMaster signing the bill that sets rules for early voting in South Carolina, Horry County elections officials are preparing locations and workers. Up until now, absentee ballots were only allowed for certain groups of people mentioned in state law, such as people 65 and older, folks serving in the military, or the disabled. Now that early voting has passed, all registered voters are eligible to participate, and the voting will begin two weeks before the election. There will not be any in-person absentee voting this coming Monday, as originally scheduled. All early voting will begin May 31. (Myhorrynews) (WBTW)

Myrtle Beach pic of the day:

This stunner of a photo was submitted to us by Steve Friedman. He calls the photo Stormy Skies and a Sand Dune. Nice one, Steve! Thanks so much for the great example of the beauty of Grand Strand beaches!

Would you like to see your photo here? Submit one for consideration. Please confirm in your email that you own the rights to the photograph, and that Patch has your permission to republish the photo. Pics are posted in the order received, so keep checking daily for your photo!

Saturday in Myrtle Beach:

• March for Babies @ Broadway at the Beach, South Pavilion (8:30 a.m.)
• Beach Bash Cheer & Dance Nationals @ Myrtle Beach Sports Center (All day)
• World Famous Blue Crab Festival @ Little River Waterfront (9 a.m.) continues Sunday
• Myrtle Beach Bike Week Spring Rally @ Various Locations (All day) through May 22
• Library Fan Fest @ North Myrtle Beach Library (10 a.m.)
• American Craft Beer Week Festival @ Crooked Hammock Brewery (2 p.m.)

Sunday in Myrtle Beach:

• Take A Kid Surfing Day Surf Dreams Foundation Contest @ Holiday Inn Surfside (8 a.m.)
• Beach Bash Cheer & Dance Nationals @ Myrtle Beach Sports Center (All day)
• World Famous Blue Crab Festival @ Little River Waterfront (9 a.m.) (WMBF)
• Myrtle Beach Bike Week Spring Rally @ Various Locations (All day) through May 22
• Stayin' Alive: Bee Gees Tribute Band @ Carolina Opry (7 p.m.)
• Ocean Drive @ Garden City Pier Café (8 p.m.)

From my notebook:

• The folks at Beach Dreams Market in North Myrtle Beach are having a Day Of Puppy Love today. Ten percent of all proceeds for the day will be donated to NMB Humane Society. There will also be a donation bin that they need filled up with wish list items for the NMBHS. They're doing it in memory of Teddy, the abandoned, terminally-ill dog who stole the hearts of pet lovers on the Grand Strand during the last few months of his life. (Facebook)
• The Conway Police Department has a new face, and he's making history. Finn is the department's comfort dog. He's a Bernedoodle, which is a mixture of a poodle and a Bernese Mountain Dog. He's in training right now to become a comfort dog for crime victims in Conway. Finn is joining the team thanks to an $8,000 grant. Finn is the first comfort dog to join a law enforcement department in Horry County. (Myhorrynews)
• Over in Myrtle Beach, the police department bid farewell to a retired K9 officer. Roscoe was a narcotics detection K9 with MBPD for eight years. He retired and lived with his handler, and became the face of Bird Dog Power Washing, a company owned by his handler. Roscoe died earlier this month. He was described as a "once in a lifetime kind of dog". (WMBF)
• Visit Myrtle Beach, South Carolina: The Choice Fam journeyed to Murrells Inlet to give us a tour of historic Atalaya Castle. Join them to learn more about the history and take in the beauty in this week's video. (Facebook)
• The Lake Arrowhead Solid Waste and Recycling Center has reopened with expanded hours and services. The center was closed for several years. The official reopening will be Wednesday, May 18. It will be open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. It will be closed Mondays and Tuesdays. (Press Release Desk)
• Be sure to check MyrtleLive.com's calendar daily for all the live musicians playing up and down the Grand Strand this weekend. (MyrtleLive.com)

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That's it for Saturday, everybody! I'll be in your inbox tomorrow with the Sunday edition of the Myrtle Beach Daily! Stay safe out there — look twice, save a life!

— Kathy Mandell

About me: The best decision I ever made was relocating to the Myrtle Beach area from New England a few years ago, with my three dogs and three cats. I enjoy dogs, cats, road trips, photography, writing, vegetarian food, live music, bicycling and above all my daily walks on the beaches in and around the Grand Strand.

Have a news tip or suggestion for an upcoming Myrtle Beach Daily? Contact me at myrtlebeach@patch.com