Get ready to “Party for Preservation” by marking your calendars for the 8th Annual Bald Eagle Bash, Saturday, April 22, to benefit the Weeks Bay Foundation’s mission of preserving and protecting coastal wetlands.

Set on the edge of Weeks Bay in Baldwin County, this “taste of Weeks Bay” brings in a long list of top-notch restaurants to serve up their best dishes featuring fresh Gulf shrimp. And while the food is the main attraction, a highlight this year is the return of The Mulligan Brothers, a homegrown band whose alternative country, folk and blues is putting them on their way to the national stage.

“From jalapeno shrimp sliders and shrimp-stuffed potatoes, to traditional favorites like shrimp and grits and gumbo, no one goes home with an empty stomach,” Bald Eagle Bash Chairman Rodney Kilgore said.

Organizers said the 2016 Bash had a record number of participants at 1,200 and 14 restaurants. This year they are increasing the number of restaurants to 17 to accommodate the larger numbers and allow more chefs to showcase their talent and expose people to their restaurants.

The party begins at 4 p.m. at the waterfront Tonsmeire Weeks Bay Resource Center at the Fish River Bridge on U.S. Highway 98 in Fairhope. To date, lead sponsors for Bald Eagle Bash are Poarch Band of Creek Indians/Wind Creek Hospitality/OWA, and Coastal Land Trust.

For more information and sponsorship opportunities, visit www.BaldEagleBash.com or contact the Foundation office at (251) 990-5004. Closer to date, tickets will be available through the website, the Foundation office, the Weeks Bay Estuarine Reserve and several local outlets. Tickets are $40 in advance and $45 at the gate. Children 10 and under are free.