It’s almost crawfish season, and as usual, Louisiana will be celebrating it with a big party and a big dance where lines will form at seafood shops and restaurants all over and around New Orleans to showcase the crustaceans in myriad forms. If you’re from around here, you know very well that every family around will also be setting up elaborate boiling stations in their backyards and preparing to throw mudbug feasts for friends and family and neighbors and coworkers and more. There are also crawfish festivals all around on the Northshore, with Slidell’s Crawfish Cook-Off being the biggest of the bunch. Planning a visit near Louisiana in the coming year? Mark your calendar for this annual amazing event, because you won’t want to miss out! 

What is Slidell’s Crawfish Cook-Off?

A knee-slapping and delicious fund-raising event that is held every April and hosted by the Hospice Foundation of the South in Frithcie Park during the peak of the delicious and unforgettable crawfish season. You will definitely not want to miss out on this crawfish extravaganza! 

Slidell’s Crawfish Cook-Off features 60 teams competing for honors and title of “Best Crawfish in St. Tammany Parish.” Best part? At the end of the festival, a massive 45,000 pounds of crawfish is cooked up by the participating teams. All you have to do is just pay the admission fee and eat as many crawfish as you possibly can. If you’re ready for massive amounts of delicious crawfish and a family gathering that can’t be beat, come join us! 

How do you eat crawfish?

Sometimes in New Orleans it feels like babies are born knowing how to eat crawfish. It’s so easy anyone can do it, right?? Not true! If you’re a tourist who hasn’t tried eating one before, you might fret on how to do it just right. But that’s okay. It’s totally normal to not know what you’re doing if you’ve never done it before. Just feel free to ask the local to show you how it’s done and give it a try. Trust us, It’s so much fun! One more thing, though, don’t be surprised if you see one person consume 3-5 pounds of boiled crawfish in one sitting. That’s a very common scenario during the feast in New Orleans. Almost like a spring Thanksgiving but with delicious crawfish! 

Eat all you want and possibly can hold crawfish would, for most people probably be enough to satisfy most people, but at the Slidell’s Crawfish Cook-Off, we double up the fun by featuring live music by local favorite artists like the Top Cats and 4 Unplugged. If you get to a point where you just can’t think about crawfish anymore, there are also stalls offering burgers and hotdogs. Up for a few drinks? Beers and soft drinks are available, too. This is the party of the year, for sure!

Excited for this eat all you can adventure? Mark your calendar and book that much-needed vacation on April 27, to attend Slidell’s Crawfish Cook-Off. See you there!