09/30/2026
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Four days of seafood, music and art are coming back to Gulf Place, and locals need to know about the road closures too.
October on Alabama's coast wouldn't feel quite the same without this one.
The 53rd Annual National Shrimp Festival is returning to Gulf Shores October 8 through October 11, 2026, bringing four days of seafood, live music, arts and crafts to Gulf Place at the end of Highway 59.
And despite the name, shrimp isn't the only thing on the menu.
Current festival information lists more than 50 food vendors, with offerings ranging from Gulf shrimp to crab cakes, fish tacos and other seafood and festival favorites.
There will also be more than 150 fine-art and arts-and-crafts booths and more than 100 hours of musical entertainment during the four-day event. A children's activity area and the traditional sand sculpture contest are also part of the festival.
Admission is free.
For locals, though, there's another part of Shrimp Festival week worth knowing about.
Traffic changes begin before the festival opens.
West Gulf Place parking is scheduled to close October 5 for setup. Highway 59 will be closed at 1st Avenue, and a section of Gulf Beach Boulevard in front of Gulf Place will also be closed as the festival area is prepared.
A park-and-ride shuttle service will operate during the festival from several locations around Gulf Shores and Orange Beach. The 2026 shuttle wristband is listed at $5 per day for unlimited rides that day.
Festival hours are 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
For visitors, it's a huge beach festival.
For those of us who live here, it's also that October weekend when you know Gulf Shores is going to be very, very busy.
Research verification: Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism's current 2026 festival information.
