Southwest Louisiana’s only seafood festival

[Ray]

The second annual Arts & Crabs Fest will be held onvSaturday, Aug. 20, from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Lake CharlesvCivic Center.
In concert with the LakevCharles/SWLA Convention and Visitors Bureau, Arts & Crabs aims to ensure the continuity of Southern Louisiana’s food culture by celebrating the reconstruction and rebirth of Cameron Parish’s seafood industry after Hurricane Rita in 2005 and the BP oil spill in 2010.
From 5 to 7 p.m., 10 local chefs from local restaurants will prepare and serve crab dishes that are most representative of Southwest Louisiana from crab cakes and crab po-boys to crab stuffed jalapenos and bisques.
Each dish will be served with a different Abita beer. Participating restaurants include Big Daddy’s, Harlequin Steaks & Seafood, 121 Bistro, Cypress Grill at Graywood Plantation, Sha Sha’s of Creole, Coyote Blues, Sabine Pass Crab Shack, and Pujo St. Café.
When the sun goes down at 6 p.m., Southern blues band Grayson Capps and the Lost Cause Minstrels will be on stage.
The day will also feature vendor booths, beverage sales and an art walk featuring the best of local artists.
Admission to Arts & Crabs Fest is a $25 wristband and grants the purchaser access to the entire festival and all of the crab dishes and beer samples.
At 7:45 p.m., the Arts Council’s annual Gold Key Quest raffle drawing will take place, and 10 lucky ticket holders who purchased a $50 ticket will receive prizes, one of which is a Big Lake guided fishing tour with Captain Allen Singletary.