Spring, Texas- 20 miles north of Houston or for us natives a normal drive to just about any side of Houston. Droves of people and the MHL crew descend upon Olde Town Spring. The location, a seemingly quiet town just off the beaten path (I-45) has been home of the Texas Crawfish Festival for more than 24 years. We decided we would check out the largest Crawfish Festival in the south. It was a sure bet, and we were not disappointed. The Crawfish Festival is 3 weekends long with over 70 tons of crawfish and other great eats to chomp on. Once you go, this will be an event you’re going to anticipate every year. There are only 2 weekends left ending April 23-25 so make sure you don’t miss out on trying these suckers.
Just like any event, it is wise to arrive early in the day to try to avoid huge crowds and find good parking. The friendly people of Spring have lots of parking areas set up at reasonable prices. The parking spaces closest to the event were priced between $4-$10. Traffic does tend to get a little backed up towards the evening so its better to arrive early and ride together. Upon entering the fairgrounds or the unofficial entrance, you will notice the many tents set up with different types of food. For all you none mud bug eaters there is something here for you to try. If you do love crawfish, there is no short supply of these tasty little things.
Basic info: Located in Olde Town Spring, the 24th annual Crawfish Festival boasts large amounts of crawfish and great music. You are more than welcome to take a cooler full of your favorite beverages into the fairgrounds, but be aware that you will not be able to take it pass the official entrance to the festival (most of the food is outside this entrance anyways).
In addition to the crawfish, there are many other things to try: hot dogs, corn dogs, boudin balls, shrimp balls, crawfish balls, crawfish pie, and even crawfish sausage. For your sweet tooth, fried everything: twinkies, oreos, even ice cream!
You will find people from all over the region with their take on the right way to cook and season them. Take Drouin’s Crazy Cajun for example, these guys have been doing crawfish their way for over 15 years. The process is simple –steam to cook and soak to let the flavor build. Across the way you will find the more traditional form of cooking in your seasoning by boiling. No matter who you talk to their crawfish will be the best but its up to you to decide which you like better.
We even found quite possibly the only crawfish sausage in the world from the Texas Cajun Sausage Co
In addition to all the food there is live music, shopping, and face painting. All of the things we have discussed are outside the official entrance and do not require an entrance ticket (entrance to the actual festival costs 10 dollars).
Check out the official site of The Texas Crawfish Festival
Below is our gallery of pictures from the festival. Check out how. we spent our day, and as always be sure to share your comments and pictures with us!
I WANT SOME!! Can you recommend good places around town?…..