Highway 6: How the Shrimp Festival came to be

SNEADS FERRY, N.C. (WECT) - As the Sneads Ferry Shrimp Festival comes up on it 49th year, we’re taking a look back at its history.

Bernice Guthrie is 91 years old and has been involved in the festival since the beginning. Guthrie was just an attendant at the festival the first four years, but since then, has had a hand in putting the actual event together.

Guthrie says not much has changed, but there have been a few memorable events that some might not remember.

“Things that we did the first two or three years that we don’t even hear about anymore, like the greased pig, the greased pole," said Guthrie.

The festival didnt find its permanent home until 1976. Through the first five years of the festival, it bounced around from place to place until settling on the land they have now. The community building that also doubles as the Shrimp Festival home was specifically built in 1990 to give them a place call their own.

“When they started out originally, the shrimp festival was a big shrimp boil," said Lisa Hamner, festival chair. "Everybody in the community got together and fixed the shrimp and the sides, they put it all out here on the table and everybody had shrimp.”

Guthrie said her age has made it harder for her to stay involved in the festival, but her favorite part is the parade. You can expect to see her sitting in the front row for this year’s festival.

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