Good food, old and new friends and excellent entertainment are all on the agenda for the Suffolk Ruritan Club’s annual Shrimp Feast next Thursday.

The Peanut Festival kick-off is held at the festival site and promises lots of food and fun for everyone.

But the main goal of the event is to gather money to be able to support other nonprofit organizations as well as the Ruritans’ own initiatives.

“Think about where the money goes,” Ruritan Jimmy Franks said.

The club supports dozens of local organizations, gives scholarships and does its own initiatives, such as an event for wounded warriors and helping other nonprofit organizations, with the money. At this year’s National Night Out event at Sentara Obici Hospital, the Ruritans fed more than 1,700 people from their trailer.

Ruritan E.C. Harris said the Shrimp Feast is one of the most important fundraising events of the year.

“There’s so many places in the community that if they didn’t have charitable organizations raising money for them, they would fold up,” Harris said.

This year’s feast will feature shrimp, barbecue, sides and beverages. Celeste Kellogg, a country artist and Smithfield native, will supply the entertainment.

And then there’s all the folks you see that you haven’t seen in forever, Harris said.

“It’s like a family reunion or a high school reunion,” he said.

Tickets are $30 in advance, which provides the ticketholder with free parking, or $40 at the gate, which would require the guest to pay the $15 parking fee at the gate to the festival if they do not already have a parking pass.

The Oct. 8 event will take place from 3 to 7 p.m. at the Suffolk Executive Airport.

Tickets are available at the following businesses: Bennett’s Creek Pharmacy, Virginia Commonwealth Bank, Line-X of Suffolk, Cross Realty, BB&T Bank, Roy and Ricky’s, Mike Duman Auto Sales, Dr. Robertson’s Eye Care, Grafik Trenz Smithfield, Quality Cleaners, Xenith Bank, Citizen’s Bank in Windsor, Ricky’s Custom Carts, Major Signs, Aamco Transmissions and City of Suffolk Tourism.

Cash or checks are accepted for tickets. Make checks payable to Suffolk Ruritan Club. Call 620-8625 or 434-9240 for more information.