Only one entrant in beauty pageant, not many take part in races
OCEAN CITY – Although about a hundred spectators gathered at Sixth Street and the Boardwalk Wednesday evening to watch the annual Miss Crustacean Beauty Pageant and hermit crab races, there wasn’t much to see.
Only one little girl entered her hermit crabs in the beauty pageant and fewer than 10 entered crabs in the races afterwards.
The pageant, which has been around for decades, used to be a highly popular event with numerous families and businesses entering the hermit crabs in fancy dioramas with silly themes. It has faded in recent years.
A half-dozen passionate members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals were protesting nearby at the event, asking Ocean City to find another form of entertainment for the summer visitors. They took credit for the diminished turnout after making news some two weeks earlier when PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk wrote to Mayor Jay Gillian asking the city to stop using the hermit crabs as entertainment and offering to supply robotic crabs instead.
PETA may have played a part in the low participation Aug. 19, but interest in the event has been on the decline.
Aide to the Mayor Michael Allegretto said the pageant and races are among the legacy events, founded by former publicist Mark Soifer, that the city has continued. Soifer, who died in 2021 at age 89 handled public relations in the resort for more than 40 years. A park at Ninth Street and Asbury Avenue is dedicated in honor to Soifer, who brought the Doo Dah Parade and other silly events to Ocean City.
Natalie LaFleur, 10, of Egg Harbor Township, built a lighthouse with a small cage at top for the two hermit crabs, Cheddar and Chowder, she bought the crabs the week before in a boardwalk store.
“We were just thinking of ideas and the lighthouse was the one that stood out to me,” she said, seated next to her dad waiting for the event to begin. Natalie said the one name was inspired by a person walking a dog. She asked to pet the dog and the owner said its name was Chowder.
“I really liked the name Chowder and then Cheddar was the first name that popped up in my mind and rhymed with Chowder,” she explained.
Natalie said she enjoyed having a hermit crab as pets “because not many people have them and I think it’s really special to have them.”
Five PETA protesters quietly held signs on the boardwalk and stood by Daria Tavana, who was dressed as a hermit crab and crouched in a mock tank. They were spreading the message that people shouldn’t own hermit crabs.
Tavana, from Cherry Hill, wore a red leotard and red tights, had her faced painted red with mock antennae on her head and rubber claw gloves on her hands.
The lifelong New Jersey resident said she is an animal lover, “so when I found out that this kind of cruelty to animals was happening in my own back yard, I felt the need to show up, to show everyone that animals don’t exist for entertainment, they don’t exist for any purpose other than to live a free, happy life in their natural environment.
“Crabs, in particular, are really misunderstood. They can actually live up to 40 years in the wild,” she said. “They prefer to be away from humans and to spend time together with other crabs.”
She said the protest was to encourage the city to use robotic crabs and more innovative forms of entertainment and to leave crabs alone.
“I wanted to use my body and my voice to stick up for these animals and raise awareness. We’ve seen a lot of individuals here who actually didn’t even know about these crab races, and when we told them about it, they felt horrified and embarrassed that this was happening here,” Tavana said.
She noted the outfit was a team effort.
“It is uncomfortable, but, you know, nothing compared to the discomfort that these animals have to face when they’re ripped from their natural environment and forced to race unnecessarily for entertainment that could be substituted with so many other means,” Tavana said.
“We’re encouraging (the city) to use robots, we’re encouraging them to use other toys and trinkets, and like the sign says, I am not a pet, I am not a toy or a prop so a little bit of discomfort for this cause is nothing.”
Mason Melito of Point Pleasant, a senior campaigner for PETA, said the group is “urging Ocean City and the mayor of Ocean City to get rid of the cruel, outdated, antiquated hermit crab races and replace it with animal-free, family-friendly entertainment everyone can enjoy.”
He pointed out that PETA had offered to provide robotic crabs to race instead of live hermit crabs, but “we’ve been met with silence. And it’s shameful that Ocean City continues to maintain the position that hermit crabs are to be used for entertainment when they’re simply not. They’re not toys. They’re not props. They have their own desires and wish to be left alone in their ocean home.”
He added that hermit crabs can live 40 years in the wild, but only survive one to four years in captivity.
Melito said several people told the PETA protesters they wouldn’t be attending the races “after learning about our protest and have recognized that hermit crabs are their own individuals that don’t want to be raced.”
Blake Archibald, 7, of Egg Harbor Township, won the sparsely attended hermit crab races with his crab that he named Mr. Krebs, after the cartoon crab in the “Sponge Bob Square Pants” cartoons. The race winner is the one that scuttles out of a circle on a large flat table on the sand next to the boardwalk.
Miss Ocean City Kayla Magazzu, Junior Miss Ocean City Lynnie Becker and Little Miss Ocean City Shiloh Smith judged the contest. Being tiny, eight-year-old Shiloh climbed up on the table to help place the crabs, with slight hesitation, into a plastic container at the center of the table that held them until the start of the races.
They presented big trophies to Blake and Natalie for the races and pageant, respectively.
Blake’s Mr. Krebs won its heat and then won the final race. He was with his mom, Brandy Archibald and stepdad, Ocean City Police Lt. Chris Vivarelli.
“He’s been waiting for this all day,” Brandy said of her son. “He was really excited. We’re very proud.
“He actually got that hermit crab yesterday, but we’ve had them every year,” she said. “We’ve never come (to the races) before, but he’s had them all the time.”
Asked about the PETA protest, she said, “I think it’s good to treat animals kindly. We put our crabs in a big cage when we get home.”
– STORY and PHOTOS by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
