Mandurah’s city centre and waterfront spaces were buzzing over the weekend for the 23rd annual Channel 7 Mandurah Crab Fest, with well over 100,000 visitors attending the City of Mandurah’s signature event.
One of the state’s biggest regional events, Crab Fest on 16 and 17 March was a feast for the senses with a jam-packed program of experiences for the whole family, including plenty of delicious food highlighting Mandurah’s celebrated blue swimmer crab.
Mandurah Mayor Rhys Williams said Crab Fest 2024 was a huge success which showcased the Mandurah lifestyle to big crowds from far and wide.
“We are so thrilled with the turnout and smooth delivery of this year’s Crab Fest, and it was great to see our city, Australia’s Top Tourism Town, come alive again for our iconic event,” he said.
“Crab Fest has a winning recipe that keeps people coming back year after year for an authentic Mandurah experience. We're really proud of this event and we thank Channel 7 and all our sponsors and partners who helped to make Crab Fest possible.
“A huge thanks also to close to 100 volunteers who gave their time and energy to help bring Crab Fest to life, plus the local businesses that got involved, and city staff who spent many hours behind the scenes to bring the event together. We could not have done it without you all.”
The city’s iconic festival kicked off on Friday night, 15 March, with two ticketed events showcasing great food, drinks and entertainment on the waterfront.
Family fun, attractions, live music and food to suit all tastes flowed all weekend with highlights including mouth-watering food stalls, celebrity cooking demonstrations on the Spudshed Cooking Stage, live music on the Seaside Estate Music Stage, roving entertainment and an amazing fireworks display on Saturday night.
Australian electronic dance act The Potbelleez headlined the music stage on Saturday night, bursting out with high-energy hits including Hello, From the Music and the triple platinum top five single, Don’t Hold Back. A stunning fireworks display over the Peel Harvey Estuary rounded off a stellar first day of Crab Fest.
Four-piece Australian rock band Pacific Avenue hit the music stage on Sunday afternoon, finishing up an incredible line up of live acts throughout the weekend and giving the perfect end to Crab Fest 2024 with hits including My Hero and Easy Love.
Crab Fest crowds also enjoyed cooking demonstrations by Event Ambassadors James Stewart from Home and Away and former cricketer Matthew Hayden and his TV presenter daughter Grace Hayden, plus Channel 7 celebrities, Cooking Stage host Pete Curulli from Mix94.5, Culinary Ambassador Paul West from River Cottage Australia, and more.
More than 50 food vendors and local businesses dished up a huge range of seafood and other savoury dishes, sweet treats and drinks, plus fresh cooked crabs to eat at the festival or take home to enjoy. The Spudshed Yellow Brick Road was busy all weekend with homegrown treats for all to enjoy.
Other highlights of WA’s biggest free regional event included the Alcoa Family Zone and Children’s Stage with great entertainment all weekend, the SciTech area, and the thrills and spills of the Mandurah Action Sports Games with wakeboarding, BMX, scooter and skateboarding competitions.
The Channel 7 Mandurah Crab Fest is delivered by the City of Mandurah and supported by the State Government through Tourism WA’s Regional Events Program.
