DELCAMBRE — The hot, humid, rainy weather of the past week didn’t do many favors for Delcambre’s Shrimp Festival grounds, but it still didn’t stop local residents and out-of-towners from enjoying Delcambre’s biggest festival of the year.

Approaching its 70th year, the Delcambre Shrimp Festival started in 1950 as a way to raise funds for the Delcambre Fire Department. But the good food and good music attracted a wider audience until it became known as one of the Teche Area’s premiere August festivals.

Along with the food and music, a pageant is held annually with girls entering from all over Louisiana to compete for the title of Shrimp Festival queen, and high profile country musicians have been a regular thanks to the Shrimp Festival Association.

But more than anything, the festival is meant to celebrate the shrimping industry. Shrimping has traditionally been the economic lifeblood for Delcambre, and the annual festival makes a point of putting on the event near Bayou Carlin and the colorful docked shrimping boats that are always stationed near the Shrimp Festival Building.

Shrimp of all kinds was on-tap for event-goers to enjoy, including boiled shrimp, fried shrimp, shrimp po-boys, shrimp jambalaya, shrimp burgers and even shrimp egg rolls.

Cookoffs, fais-do-dos and a street fair were all part of the fun during the week, with the festival kicking off Wednesday. The hundreds in attendance Saturday night experienced slightly cooler weather thanks to a rainy afternoon.

Stacey Evans, an Abbeville resident who attended the festival’s street fair with her son Brayden, said the festival was a great way to have a nice night out with the family.

“It’s pretty close, you don’t have to go all the way to Lafayette,” Evans said. “It’s always a little muggy but we love coming.”

Firefighter water fights took place in the morning, with local fire departments competing against each other, and a shrimp cookoff was also held in the afternoon.

Krossfyre, Ole Whiskey Revival and Mike Dean were part of the musical lineup at the main stage, which was full of festival enthusiasts who parked their chairs right in front of the speakers for the evening.

Craig Morgan, a Tennessee artist with several country hits that charted nationally, was the headliner for the night.

The festival ends today with a Fisherman’s Mass at the Shrimp Festival Building followed by a blessing of the fleet. Ryan Foret also is scheduled to perform before the event closes down for the year at 4 p.m.