April 2, 2013, Gulf Shores, AL (GSA) — The 42nd Annual National Shrimp Festival™ presented by Zatarain’s may still be more than six months away, but committee members have already been busy.

At a committee meeting on March 19, members chose an entry by Fairhope artist Loran Chavez as this year’s official Shrimp Festival poster. The committee consists of approximately 100 volunteers who coordinate everything from retail sales to signing entertainers to perform at the festival.

“The design features multiple shrimp along with several other undersea wonders including sand dollars and two gorgeous mermaids,” Alabama Gulf Coast Area Chamber of Commerce Special Events Director Ann VonEberstein said. “One shrimp is playing a guitar, another is painting a picture and two more are hard at work cooking. These shrimp represent different, but equally important, aspects of our festival – music, food and art.”

Chavez said she grew up in an Air Force family, and the experiences she had as a youngster has shaped her art.

“I grew up with a different point of view of the world around me,” she said. “I traveled extensively with my parents because my father was in the Air Force. “This travel gave me the chance to see and do things that most children only dream about. That zest for life has followed me into my adult years. My love of the world around me has also been a major influence on my artwork.”

Shrimp Festival Chairman Matt Mogan said he was impressed not only with the beauty of the poster, but that Chavez brought something else to the table. She has, for the past several years, been chosen by a jury of the Fine Arts committee of the Festival to display her art in a booth at the Festival.