Let’s eat some shrimp. And dig some live music with the Gulf as a backdrop.

There’s much more to the National Shrimp Festival than just the shrimp and two stages of live music for four days. Vendors selling everything from fine art to lemonade will also line the sidewalks and greenways of Gulf Place for the 53^rd Annual National Shrimp Festival.

Gulf Shores City Council will discuss issuing an assembly or large group activity permit at its Aug. 3 work session at 4 p.m. Councilors will be discussing items to be voted on in the next regular session on Sept. 14. Council will not on the Sept. 7 Labor Day holiday.

This year’s festival will be the weekend of Oct. 8-11 at Gulf Place at the intersection of State Route 59 and Beach Boulevard including the area around the Hangout. Click here for more information on the festival.

During the work session, council will also discuss:

Renewing an annual contract with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to help the building department streamline permitting, hear variance requests and patrol the beaches in the city. The city will be reimbursed $66,550 for the services;

Amending the city’s zoning amendment to modify the definition of the walking overlay district to add a clause where legally nonconforming residences can be rebuilt if destroyed. The planning commission gave a favorable recommendation for the change in its June meeting;

Annexing 5.49 acres at 18789 Oak Road West just west of the Gulf Shores Sportsplex. Staff recommended bringing the property into the city with single-family residential zoning. The moratorium in place in Gulf Shores on building multi- and single-family developments will not impact this annexation; and

Approving an assembly permit for the Bloody Mary 5K on Sept. 5 at 7:30 a.m. starting and ending near Acme Oyster House in the Waterway Village District.