There is no arguing the fact that we do love a good festival in this part of the world.

We do dearly love to celebrate our collective love of everything from old time fiddling to telling tall tales. Our devotion to gathering en masse is especially this time of year when it is acceptable again to step outdoors without fear of mosquitoes or sunstroke.

I don’t know if it was by design or good fortune, but this weekend Alabama’s coastal region will play host to a free-flowing gala aimed at paying homage to one of our favorite topics for discussion: shrimp.

The 50th Gulf Shores Shrimp Festival kicks off on Friday and runs through Sunday with a mouth-watering array of shrimply delicious dishes. More than 50 vendors will be on hand serving up a dizzying array of shrimp dishes in a carnival setting that allows folks to stroll and nibble at their leisure.

I also realize that not everybody can attend this epic seafood extravaganza. Just because you can’t attend in person doesn’t mean you can’t make your own home-sized shrimp fest.