The 2026 Annual National Shrimp Festival, scheduled for Oct.  7-10, has been canceled due to impending Tropical Storm Isaias, which is expected to be a hurricane by the time it makes landfall in or near Baldwin County overnight Saturday.

Gulf Coast Media has confirmed with multiple sources as of aroud 9 a.m. the city’s flagship event will not happen this year.

Festival organizers said the guidance came from the City of Gulf Shores Emergency Management Department and asked for vendors who have already set up to break their sites down and for those who were still on their way to “turn around.”

“We made every attempt to conduct the festival this year, but due to the projection of high winds, heavy surf and rain over the weekend, it really left us no choice but to cancel this year’s event," Coastal Alabama Business Chamber President Greg Alexander said in an emailed statement around 9:45 a.m. The Chamber is the presenter of the festival.

The four-day event is a huge boost for small businesses who sell their art, food, products and services to more than 300,000 attendees. Last year, more than $28,000 in tip money from concessions sales was raised for 25 different local nonprofits.

From Friday through the weekend, Isaias is expected to produce rainfall amounts of 3 to 6 inches, with localized totals up to 10 inches, across the northern U.S. Gulf Coast extending from far southeastern Louisiana to the Florida Panhandle. According to the National Weather Service, the earliest reasonable arrival of tropical storm force winds is Friday morning and afternoon, with the most likely onset Friday evening.

Major concerns are high winds, high surf, rip currents, storm surge, flash flooding and tornadoes. Heavy rainfall remains a concern, especially after last weekend’s flooding.