FOOD & FUN FOR THOSE ON THE RUN — All that and more could be found at the Hampton Beach Seafood Festival last weekend.(top left) Cascade Cafe serves up some fresh lobster (top right) Runners take part in the Hampton Rotary 5K Race (bottom) Congressman Jeb Bradley , (R-NH), helps out with a WHS fundraiser by taking his chances in a dunking booth
Seafood Festival a success
By Nancy Rineman
HAMPTON BEACH - An estimated 200,000 - 250,000 people descended upon Hampton Beach this past weekend, wrapping up the summer of 2003 at the 14th annual Seafood Festival.
Perfect weather conditions all three days of the now historic event added beach goers to the pristine setting of brilliant sunshine, clear blue skies, and the rolling waves of the Atlantic. Added to the mix was a 5K road race sponsored by the Hampton Rotary Club on Saturday morning, non-stop musical entertainment with multiple bands Friday, Saturday and Sunday, tent after tent of vendors and crafts, and, of course, the endless choice of culinary delights accompanying the tantalizing smells wafting throughout the Boulevard.
Seafood Festival Committee chairman Jerry Dignam described the weekend as a "great event." Dignam said the numbers attending appeared to be much the same as last year, but with less traffic going to the beach. Dignam said he attributed that to people heeding the warnings about limited parking at Hampton Beach, opting instead to use the First Student buses transporting people from a number of parking lots throughout Hampton. Dignam said the festival committee had received compliments from the Hampton Police Department on the uptown parking arrangement, along with the express lanes for bus traffic.
"It was a win-win situation," Dignam said.
Dignam noted one singular incident that did occur that needed immediate attention. With the far-reaching effects of Hurricane Fabian making an impact even in Hampton, Dignam said that 7:45 Saturday night, he was notified by the fireworks company, American Thunder of Seabrook, that they were observing a surge in the high tide. With a hasty meeting that also involved Hampton Fire Chief Hank Lipe, the decision immediately made was to start the fireworks in the next 6 – 8 minutes, more than half an hour early, with the feature band leading into the display.
"It was a great shoot," Dignam said, adding that the spectacular display lasted about 30 minutes.
