October 18, 2011 -- GULF SHORES, AL. (GSA) ¬— The 40th Annual National Shrimp FestivalPresented by Zatarain’s is now in the books, and several of the food vendors - including the two that sold Cajun Pistols and the winner of the “Best of the Fest” award - have reported record sales.

Organizers from the Alabama Gulf Coast Area Chamber of Commerce, which produces the event, are busy compiling numbers, but preliminary indicators show vendors had a very good Festival.

“The crowds were outstanding. The weather was absolutely perfect,” Festival Chairman Ron Kutter said. “I’ve been a part of this Festival for 11 years, and this is my fifth as chairman. I have to say that overall this was one of the smoothest Festivals I’ve had occasion to be a part of.”

During a wrap-up session Sunday evening, Kutter told the 60 or so Festival Staff members that according to tax numbers received by the City of Gulf Shores, several long-time Festival participants had record years. The vendors included Rockin’ Roger’s Cajun Pistols, the Red Wagon booth that sold Cajun Pistols and fried pickles and Boudreaux’s Fresh Seafood Market of Gulf Shores – who took home the title of “Best of the Fest” for their food.

“We started out with great attendance Thursday and Friday,” Chamber Special Events Director Jan Umphrey said. “The crowds increased from the first two days on Saturday, and we were impressed by the number of people that came to the Festival before we shut it down Sunday.”

“From all indications so far, our vendors were happy not just with the crowds, but with the amount of money the crowds were spending,” Kutter said. “One rule of thumb I have is that if the vendors leave happy, I’m usually going to leave happy.”

For the first time in more than two decades, the Festival played host to a sitting governor on Saturday. About the time the festival opened for business at 10 a.m., Alabama Governor Robert Bentleyand his wife Dianne arrived with very little fanfare. They were met by Kutter and Gulf Shores City Council Member and Festival Concessions Co-Chairman Steve Jones.

“He wanted to keep this visit under the radar,” Kutter said. “He didn’t want a media circus, but it didn’t take long for people to recognize him.” Kutter said it took almost an hour for the governor to make it to the middle of the Festival.

He spent several hours looking at the art, food and merchandise on display, shaking hands and speaking with anyone who approached him and taking photos with many more. Bentley spent several minutes with Boudreaux’s owner Chris Schley, autographing a Boudreaux’s t-shirt and posing with Schley in front of his “Best of the Fest” award.

“I was blown away,” Schley said of the experience. “That was great.”

Umphrey said the Festival has hired a professor from the University of South Alabama to examine the economic impact of the Festival on the area’s economy.

“We had more than 1,500 people that filled out an extensive questionnaire that will be compiled by Dr. Semoon Chang at USA,” she said. “We far exceeded the number he expected to collect, and it just goes to show how much people that go to the Festival realize what their attendance means to us down here. That they would take time out to answer economic questions in the middle of the Festival just blows me away.” Umphrey said any information to come out of the study would be weeks away, but that organizers can’t wait to see the results. “We think we’ve always had a pretty good handle on the economic impact the Festival has,” she said. “But this will be able to give it to us in concrete terms.”