When the calendar flips over to a new year, many Louisianans begin looking forward to three seasons: spring, Mardi Gras, and crawfish season! Nothing epitomizes a perfect spring day in Louisiana better than boiling up a mess of crawfish with all the usual accoutrements — corn, potatoes, and spicy andouille sausage — and then pouring all that Cajun goodness onto an old door straddled across two sawhorses, covered in newspaper.
Crawfish fans also love to gather at festivals across the South, often combined with live music. These festivals are big business, as they support mudbug farmers, seafood distributors, crawfish cooks, and often the nonprofit organizations that stage the events.
Due to some unfortunate conditions, crawfish season looks a little different this year — but many major festivals will still go on. First, we’re digging into the nitty gritty of this season’s challenging crop, and then, we’ll highlight the best events around the South for getting your fix.
You can use these links to skip straight to the festival lists!
A Rough Year for Mudbugs
Unfortunately, crawfish season has gotten off to a tough start for 2024, thanks to a combination of factors. According to Mark Shirley, the Crawfish Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Specialist at the LSU AgCenter, this year could be a historically difficult year for sourcing those beloved crustaceans. In an open letter to the community, he wrote, “I am painting a pretty dismal picture of the 2024 crawfish crop.”
Last year’s drought conditions and hot summer led to a high mortality rate among crawfish that were not harvested in 2022, and these represented the brood stock for future crops. Farmers used to harvesting in December, January, and February found their nets practically empty since last summer’s holdovers were lost. The ditch bugs they did find were small, and a colder-than-usual start to the year meant that they would be very slow to mature and not likely to reach their preferred eating size until March or April.
Seafood markets that have been selling crawfish this year have had to offer them at record-high prices — not exactly the best circumstances for throwing a big boiling party at home, let alone staging a giant festival. Still, it’s going to take a lot more than a little blip in the supply chain to cause crawdad lovers to skip an opportunity to party. So, most of the annual festivals are still on schedule!
Some organizers have had to make accommodations for the current market conditions. For example, Tennessee Brew Works in Nashville has thrown a giant two-day boiling event every spring since 2018, but they were forced to pivot this year. Rather than putting more pressure on the crawfish population and passing the higher prices on to customers, the brewery developed a new plan — a Cajun Shrimp Boil.
“With crawfish having a challenging year, we want to support our longtime partner, South Coast Seafood, and still throw a big community gathering,” said Christian Spears, the founder and president of Tennessee Brew Works. “A Cajun Shrimp Boil surely hits the spot!”
Larger festival organizers are keeping their claws crossed that conditions will allow for a more robust harvest later in the spring, while some have sought out crawfish from sources outside of the drought-affected areas. Pricing may remain in flux throughout the season, but that won’t stop festival attendees from getting their annual allotment of Vitamin C(rawfish.)
The show will go on. So, grab your plastic bib, and get ready to enjoy a paper raft of mudbugs and fixins at any of these upcoming festivals around the South!
2024 LOUISIANA CRAWFISH FESTIVALS
Louisiana Crawfish Festival
Location: Chalmette, LA
Dates: March 21 – 24
More info: louisianacrawfishfestival.com
Join the “Chalmatians” of St. Bernard Parish as they come together to celebrate the state’s culture and support local charities. Along with four nights of live music, the fest features almost as many variations of crawfish dishes as Bubba Gump had for shrimp. “There’s Boiled Crawfish, Crawfish Bread, Crawfish Pies, Crawfish Rice, Crawfish Etouffee, Crawfish Pasta, Crawfish Jambalaya …” You get the picture.
NOLA Crawfish Festival
Location: New Orleans, LA
Dates: April 29 – May 1
More info: nolacrawfishfest.com
Most crawfish festivals take place over the course of weekends, but not in New Orleans! In the Big Easy they laissez les bon temps rouler from Monday until Wednesday between the weekends of the popular New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. That also means the festival features fantastic music acts that might be in town for Jazz Fest. This year’s headliners include George Porter, Jr., the Runnin’ Pardners, and jazz legend John Boutté. Twenty teams will vie in a huge crawfish cookoff judged by local celebrities.
Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival
Location: Breaux Bridge, LA
Dates: May 3 – 5
More info: bbcrawfest.com
The Louisiana legislature named Breaux Bridge “The Crawfish Capital of the World,” and they should know! More than 1600 farmers trap crawfish from man-made ponds in St. Martin Parish, the heart of Cajun Country. Breaux Bridge’s annual ode to the crawfish appears on “Best Fests” lists in publications across the country for good reason. In addition to bushels of boiling crawfish, the weekend features zydeco music and dancing, the “can’t miss” crawfish races where the Crawfish Race Commissioner yells “ils sont parties,” and numbered crawfish race be the first to leave the eight-foot circular target, and the competition for “Crawfish Queen” is the honor of a lifetime for young local ladies.
Mudbug Madness
Location: Shreveport, LA
Dates: May 24 – 26
More info: mudbugmadness.com
2024 marks the 40th edition of this beloved festival in Northwest Louisiana, drawing tens of thousands of hungry visitors to Shreveport for each day of the fest. Popular activities include crawfish eating contests with divisions for both men and women, crawfish calling competitions where contestants try to woo mudbugs with their best version of a mating call, plus entertainment from musical artists ranging across many of the genres made popular in Louisiana, from Cajun and zydeco to blues and jazz. Of course, there will be plenty of food to enjoy at Mudbug Madness which runs from 11 a.m. to late night each day of the fest.
2024 CRAWFISH FESTIVALS IN OTHER STATES
7th Annual Big TX Fun Crawfish Boil
Location: Selma, TX
Dates: Weekends through March 24
More info: bigtxfun.com
This festival is more of a carnival that runs Friday through Sunday, the first three weekends of March, in this community on the outskirts of San Antonio. In addition to a full midway of exciting rides, a petting zoo, circus acts, and live music, the Big TX Fun Crawfish Boil features a crawfish eating contest with Texas-sized cash prizes.
If you’re not a competitive eater, you can just buy a ticket for a plate of boiled crawfish at the merchandise booth and enjoy the show. As a wonderful patriotic bonus, any veteran or active duty military who brings proof of service can register onsite and receive one small plate (one pound) of crawfish during the event, which runs from March 8 to March 24.
Crawfish and Cannons
Location: Fort Belknap, TX
Date: April 12
More info: crawfishandcannons.com
Crawfish and Cannons is a full day of fun at Fort Belknap, once the northernmost defense post of the young state of Texas in the middle of the 19th century. Today, the historic fort plays host to a celebration that kicks off with 5K, 10K, and half-marathon races, followed by a wine festival, armadillo races, and a big ole’ crawfish boil. Be ready for a big bang because they also fire a cannon every hour to commemorate the past military status of the National Historic Landmark.
31st Annual Mississippi Coast Coliseum Crawfish Music Festival
Location: Biloxi, MS
Dates: April 19 – 21
More info: mscoastcoliseum.com
For more than two decades, visitors have flocked to Biloxi for the biggest crawfish festival in Mississippi on the grounds of the Coast Coliseum, just a block from the Gulf of Mexico. Days at the fest are filled with cooking competitions, a full midway of amusement park rides, and plenty of bright red-boiled crawfish for snacking. Attention turns to the main stage outside the Coliseum at night when headliners play full concerts for the assembled crowds, and the music goes on until late in the evening.
Porter‑Leath Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival
Location: Memphis, TN
Date: April 21
More info: porterleath.org
Porter-Leath is a nonprofit organization that focuses on early education programs for the children of Memphis, and the Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival is one of their biggest fundraisers of the year. In the face of increasing crawfish prices, they are hoping that conditions improve before April and are investigating additional menu options to help stretch the seafood supply.
Regardless of conditions, the show must go on, and they’re making plans for another year of entertaining crawfish eating and crawfish bobbing contests, children’s play activities, and boiled crawfish sold by the bucket. Admission is free, but guests who pay for access to the VIP tent receive unlimited crawfish, a Cajun cuisine buffet with sodas, water, and beer, and a shady spot to enjoy the music.
Annual Pensacola Crawfish Festival
Location: Pensacola, FL
Dates: April 26 – 28
More info: fiestapensacola.org
The Florida Gulf Coast goes to Cajun at this annual celebration of Louisiana culture and cuisine that brings authentic jazz and zydeco bands to Pensacola for a weekend of music and fun. Of course, boiled crawfish are the menu’s stars, but other options like boudin, jambalaya, etouffee, fresh and fried seafood, and gumbo are also available if mudbugs aren’t your cup of tea.
37th Annual Woodbine Crawfish Festival
Location: Woodbine, GA
Dates: April 26 & 27
More info: woodbinecrawfish.com
Tucked away in the Southeast corner of Georgia, Woodbine may be a bit far from the flooded rice fields and wetlands of Louisiana where the crawfish grow, but that doesn’t stop the local festival planners from throwing another great event for the 37th year in 2024. Live bands, arts, and craft vendors, food booths, children’s activities, and fun runs are all on the entertainment menu at the Woodbine Crawfish Festival, along with plenty of boiled seafood available by the plate. A highlight of the event is the Saturday morning Crawfish Parade, where thematic floats compete to win prizes for the most creative displays. The parade ends with entries on horseback because, really, nobody wants to march behind the horses.
Annual Rosewood Crawfish Festival & Crawdaddy Dash
Location: Columbia, SC
Date: May 4
More info: rosewoodcrawfishfest.com
Five tons of crawfish will be headed for the pot at this one-day festival in South Carolina’s capital city, but the hungry crowd will have plenty of other choices in case the supply runs dry. Other Cajun/Creole treats on offer include fried alligator tails, étouffée, gumbo, jambalaya, boudin sausage, and Po’Boys. An artist village will showcase local artwork, and the Kids Zone will allow the little ones to create their own art. The lineup of live entertainment is headlined by Yacht Rock Review, who will play all the smooth hits of the 70s and 80s.
The Crawfish Festival
Location: Fountain Valley, CA
Dates: May 17 – 19
More info: crawfishfestival.com
The Crawfish Festival boasts that it is the largest boiling event outside Louisiana, and we have to believe them! Thousands of guests attend over the course of the weekend to hear bands imported from Louisiana playing the joyful sounds of Cajun, zydeco, and soul music. Kids enjoy magic shows, balloon sculpture artists, and face painting in the children’s area while the grownups are treated to Louisiana-inspired food and drink, including tons of boiled crawfish, frog legs, catfish, gumbo, red beans and rice, and jambalaya with beignets and bread pudding for dessert. Close your eyes, and you’ll swear you’re in the Big Easy!
Now, go gather a bunch of friends and follow the ancient instructions: “Pick the biggest crawfish, pinch the tail, suck the head, peel the shell, eat the meat, repeat.”
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