Arts and Crabs Festival 2015

Bob and I enjoy attending fun festivals and events that benefit a good cause. This past Saturday, we attended the 6th annual Arts and Crabs Fest!

This event raises money for the Arts and Humanities Council of Southwest Louisiana -- a very worthy cause! The Arts and Humanities Council promotes the unique and diverse culture, music, food, and people of our region by offering free public events throughout the year -- Gallery Promenade, Spring Art Walk, Live at the Lakefront. They host art camps, arts awards, and offer grants to other art and culture organizations. I can't imagine living in Lake Charles without the services they provide to the region.

Anyway, back to Arts and Crabs, this event was initiated in 2010 not only to raise funds for the organization but also to bring awareness to the region's seafood industry after the devastating BP oil spill. We first attended in 2011. You can read that post here. The event started out in a banquet room at the Civic Center and has become more popular with each passing year. They soon outgrow venues and this year they hosted the event at Burton Coliseum.

Tickets sell out and approximately 700 people attended this year. Eleven area restaurants and caterers offered samples of everything crab -- corn crab bisque, crab cornbread, crab pasta casserole, crab and cheese dip, to name a few. Our personal favorite was a crab cake (center top, below) by a soon-to-open restaurant called 1910, on Ryan St. Also good was a crab salsa (upper right below in larger bowl) by popular taco truck, The Sloppy Taco, and indeed, they won the people's choice award.

Also fun is that a local brewery -- this year Bayou Teche -- pairs samples of their beer with the dishes. Old New Orleans Rum Distillery was also on hand passing out samples.

Then there's the art. One of my favorite art friends, Sue Zimmerman was there. Love her!

This photo was lifted from my 2011 post. (Why didn't I take a photo of she and I together. I'm her biggest fan girl!)

New art friend, Melinda Antoon Cormier, was also there. She's terrific, too.

Photo lifted from her Facebook page.

And my super-creative jewelry maker friend, Andrea Beck of Tab Typewriter Key Jewelry.


Also lifted from Facebook.

 . . . as well as many other art vendors. And what is any event in Southwest Louisiana without music! Folk singers Thomas and Theresa opened the event, followed by the band Sinners.

Good food, drink, art, and music! What could be better?

Of course, the event was emceed by our ubiquitous man-about-town Braylin Jenkins, aka BrayJ.

What is your favorite festival/fundraiser?

Weekend Happenings

Prior to moving from the big city to a smaller town, a concern I had was that there wouldn't be much to do, comparatively. Not yet knowing anything about Lake Charles, I associated the town with industry. How much fun could there be?

I could not have been more wrong. And I'm so glad to say that! Lake Charles embraces a vibrant cultural scene, with music, arts, and festivals galore. If I could clone myself, there still would not be enough of me to see and do everything I'd like around here.

Take this weekend for example. Tonight begins a music fest called Live @ the Lakefront. For the next three consecutive Fridays, Arts and Humanities Council and the City of Lake Charles host bands at the lakefront outdoor amphitheater. And I'm thrilled because this evening, one of my favorite artists, Wendy Colonna, takes the stage. See a video of her music here. Click here for more info on Live @ the Lakefront.

I belong to a kayaking club called the Pelican Paddlers, and I'll be out on the Calcasieu River Saturday morning with them. More on that in a future post. There's a gardening expo this weekend at Burton Coliseum. I promise to write more on the joys of gardening in southwest Louisiana sometime soon, too.

There's the Iowa Rabbit Festival, but I went to that last year. Read the post I wrote last year here.

Saturday evening, I'm so excited to attend the long-awaited dual production of The Sleeping Beauty by the Lake Charles Civic Ballet and the Lake Charles Symphony. Info on this event is everywhere -- they've done a grand job of marketing. But look here if you need more.

Nearly simultaneously, our beloved Banners series presents Rhythmic Circus, one of Andrew's favorite shows. Feet Don't Fail Me Now! We haven't yet figured out the logistics of attending both of these events Saturday night.

But it promises to be fun! What are you doing this weekend?