Mississippi Coast Coliseum Crawfish Festival in Biloxi, Mississippi

So we’ve been at this awhile now, and no doubt you’ve realized that I’m biased towards certain things. Ghost tours are big for me, as are zoos and aquariums, and I have a penchant for late-90’s pop culture references, but maybe nothing gets me excited as a good food festival. The sights, the smells, the endless rows of sinful delicacies – I can’t get enough!

Maybe it’s because I grew up within 30 minutes’ drive of the Texas State Fair. The Fair holds as its unofficial mission the task of producing the world’s most ridiculous deep-fried anything. Deep-friend snickers? Whatever. Deep-fried Oreos? Old hat. Deep-fried truffles? Getting warmer. Deep-friend Coca-cola? Now you’re talkin’! Sure, the Fair is a cardiovascular Chernobyl, but its heart is in the right place (bad metaphor). A food festival should be all about those extremes: big personalities, big food and big flavor.

It’s no wonder, then, why I love the Crawfish Festival in Biloxi, Mississippi.

(Officially the “Hard Rock Hotel & Casino and Pepsi Presents the 17^th Annual Mississippi Coast Coliseum Crawfish Festival”, but who’s asking?)

The annual Crawfish Festival is a two-weekend celebration of the Mississippi Gulf Coast’s fun-loving spirit and irreplaceable cuisine. It’s simple, the way it should be. Like the French mirepoix that flavors so many Cajun dishes, this festival has three main parts: music, midway, and mudbugs (that’s crawfish to you).

The music and midway are top notch. Live concert stages attract a variety of funk, blues, soul and country performers, all for the price of your admission. The midway is everything you want it to be, a classic mix of thrill rides and “just one more try” carnival games.

But you and I both know it’s all about the crawfish. Over the course of two weekends the festival cooks up more than 20,000 lbs. of the delicious mini-lobsters, across every conceivable preparation. If you can, try to visit on the second Saturday (April 25) for the annual Budweiser Crawfish Cook-Off. For only $10, you can taste every dish in the cook-off and cast your ballot for the People’s Choice.

The Crawfish Festival in Biloxi, Mississippi will be held on April 16-19 and April 23-26, 2009 at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. For more information, visit the Web site.

Visit Biloxi, enjoy the festival, and then stay awhile and explore the Gulf Coast. Fishing and golf are perfect right now. Once again we recommend the Ocean Club at Biloxi for rentals on the Gulf Coast.

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