Downtown Lake Charles Crawfish Festival

There's nothing like an avalanche of steaming, scarlet crawfish slaloming out of a metal basket to signal that it's time to chow down. In downtown Lake Charles, vendors at the Crawfish Festival promise over 10,000 pounds of freshly boiled mudbugs to meet all appetites. Also on the agenda: a queen's pageant, the Crawfish Scoot 3K and 5K, and a carnival too. Festivities—including live zydeco by Geno Delafosse, Lil' Nathan, Cedryl Ballou, and J Paul Jr—will sprawl from within the Lake Charles Civic Center to the surrounding park. 11 am–9 pm. $10. Find the full programming at downtowncrawfest.com.