Around 400 people will converge on the Washington waterfront Saturday for the sixth-annual Pickin’ on the Pamlico.
This by-the-river occasion raises funds for the nonprofit Washington Harbor District Alliance, which promotes downtown Washington as a destination for day-trippers and culture-seekers.
Among the day’s attractions is live music, but the big draw is fresh crab and shrimp caught and bought in the area.
Asked what lures people to Pickin’, event chairwoman Virginia Finnerty was unequivocal: “Definitely the food, the crabs and the shrimp.”
Also ready for consumption will be music offered by the Ginger Thompson Band.
“And the band is a great band,” Finnerty advised. “The music is very appropriate for the age group that will be there. It’s just a little bit of everything, beach music and some rock.”
The Harbor District Alliance still has plenty of tickets on sale, related Beth Byrd, executive director.
So far, the group has sold about 400 tickets and hopes to sell perhaps 100 more.
“We have attracted a lot of people from outside the area,” Byrd said.
Ticketholders will travel in from Roper, New Bern, Rocky Mount, Snow Hill, Goldsboro, Roanoke Rapids and elsewhere, she added.
“A lot of people have called and asked where they should spend the night,” Byrd said.
Among the local attendees will be Neil and Meredith Loughlin, husband-and-wife owners of Lone Leaf Gallery on Washington’s Main Street.
“The food really is definitely the main thing,” Neil Loughlin said. “And it’s for a good cause, the WHDA. It’s pretty much their biggest fundraiser.”
Also, there will be an opportunity to catch up with friends, he indicated.

The sixth-annual Pickin’ on the Pamlico:
• is Saturday on the Washington waterfront;
• has a beer and wine bar that opens at 5:30 p.m.;
• sports a crab and shrimp feast beginning at 6 p.m.;
• features the Ginger Thompson Band playing from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.;
• requires tickets that cost $40 each until Saturday, when the cost goes up to $45 apiece;
• raises money for the Washington Harbor District Alliance, which promotes downtown Washington.
For more information, call the Washington Harbor District
Alliance at 252-946-3969 or visit www.whda.org.