With Frederick project underway, Habitat for Humanity holds Walkersville fundraiser
Aug. 28—It doesn't take much to get Marylanders to come out for a crab feast, especially for a good cause.
The briny scent of dismembered crabs and the salty smell of crab seasoning wafted through the air of the Walkersville Fire Hall grounds on Saturday for the Habitat for Humanity of Frederick County's Blue Crabs & Blue Pints fundraiser.
People sat under tents in the August heat, seated at tables covered with brown paper and buckets for their crab shells.
It's Habitat's signature fundraiser, which it has been doing for six years, said Sarah Lynn, director of development and marketing for the organization.
Organizers hoped to raise around $100,000, which would make up about 10% of the budget for the year, she said.
The event introduces a lot of people to the organization for the first time, said Chris Vandergrift, director of Habitat's board of directors.
Many of those people become donors and volunteers for the group, he said.
They've gotten a lot of feedback from people who feel like the event is a particularly Maryland thing, he said.
The crabs were excellent, nice and meaty, reported Olga Marchetti of Monrovia.
Her husband, Nick Marchetti, said they came out to support Habitat and the community in general.
Steve Zimmerman of Morgantown, West Virginia, helped his son Joseph, 2, learn how to play cornhole as they waited to get crabs.
"I can't wait. I love Maryland crabs. They're fantastic," Zimmerman said.
He was also happy to help support Habitat for Humanity.
"Anything we can do [to help], you know?" he said.
Wanda Routzahn of Thurmont said she's been eating crabs since she was 4 or 5 years old.
Her father used to go crabbing almost every weekend, she said.
They would get up at 2 a.m. to head for the Eastern Shore, and return with about a bushel of crabs that her father would steam while her mother got on the phone to invite friends and family.
Everyone would bring different types of food, and they would sit picking fresh crabs.
"It's a social thing," she said of the process of picking the meat out of the crustaceans' shells.
Habitat for Humanity of Frederick County Maryland is building a project on West All Saints Street in Frederick that will house 12 families in affordable for-sale condominiums — its largest project to date, said Lynn.
The project is a partnership with Asbury United Methodist Church, which owns properties in the 100 block of West All Saints Street that have been vacant for decades.
The first phase of the project, with six units, is expected to be done in the spring, said Eric Anderson, the organization's executive director.
The second phase, which will mostly take place on Ice Street, is expected to be finished in the spring of 2024, he said.
It's one thing to provide one family with affordable housing, but to be able to help 12 families is incredibly exciting, Vandergrift said.
"That sort of stability and ownership, that's what we do, that's what we get excited about," he said.
Follow Ryan Marshall on Twitter: @RMarshallFNP
