The Isleton Crawdad Festival — Attraction in Isleton

It was a very disorganized event. First, they charged me $20 to park a mile away from the event, even though online says parking is $12. Then we walked the mile to get in line to get in and the line spanned 3 blocks. They had no one working the line giving information either. So online it says by tickets at the door. This is incorrect. As we finally get close to the front they are turning people away and telling them to walk to the other entrance who don't have tickets. So I hop online to buy tickets. Tried 4 times but the website would take all my information and then just go blank. Finally, text my husband (he went up early to get seats) the kids and I were headed home because this was ridiculous. Sent my 19 year old with the phone back to the front to ask about tickets. Security gave him the same information about going to the other entrance on the other side of the festival to purchase tickets. At this time my husband gets there and tells me to go check this unmarked white tent. Low and behold you can buy tickets there. Finally, got tickets and got inside. 🙌. Get over to our seats. Get everyone some shaved ice (which was the best part of this entire adventure). The first group playing when we got there was good, there was this great group dancing and then a DJ took over for a bit. BUT then this other group came out and did a sound check and make racket for 35 minutes before they started playing (caterwauling). They were awful. They turned the sound up so loud you couldn't talk to the person next to you. I actually had to put in ear plugs. They continually squealed the mic. And then sung a song about crawdads having souls while people are trying to eat crawdads: which was an odd choice to say the least. Finally, I decided to go pay $2 a water and get everyone some water and get me some garlic fries. The vendor was out of water and when the fries came out they looked gross and nothing like the picture, but I tasted them and to my surprise they tasted gross too. Thankfully, they refunded me for that. At this point the band had been playing for over an hour, we could only find hot waters to drink, so we decided to leave. We make the mile hike back to our car. Go to leave, the parking people aren't letting us out of the parking area because they are more worried about collecting their $20 and getting people in so I finally had to force my way out. Then we went to leave and there is no 1 exit sign posted in the entire city. So we drove around in circles for 20 minutes until we finally got out of that God...

Where do I even start with the Isleton Crawdad Festival? It's the perfect spot for a family outing, especially on Father's Day Weekend. We've made it our little tradition—kids, wife, my folks, and even the grandparents get in on the action. There's something charming about downtown Isleton, and during the festival, it just comes alive in the best way.

The vendors are a highlight for me. You find the coolest stuff, from handmade goodies to those one-of-a-kind treasures you just can't pass up. And the food, oh my goodness! Whether you're a crawdad lover or you're into something a bit less adventurous, there's something for everyone. The music always gets us grooving too. It's like the whole town is buzzing with energy.

We loved it so much last time that we've been back to check out the shops even when the festival's not on. We're actually thinking of making a weekend out of it this year. Maybe stay at one of those spots on the Delta Loop, like Paradise Island or Yogi Bear Jelly Stone Resort. Sounds like a plan, right?

Seriously, if you're on the fence about going, just do it. We've been talking about it non-stop and can't wait for this year's festival. It's always a blast, and somehow, each year it's even better than the last. It's such a great, drama-free way to enjoy some quality family time. The food, the music, the atmosphere—it's just a recipe for a perfect weekend. Can't wait to make more memories...

ABSOLUTELY THE BIGGEST WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY!!!! Paid for premium parking and none of the festival parking people knew nothing about premium parking! Once parked (in Vendor parking area) entered festival which was merely a street fair! Covered main stage eating area was filthy with food remnants on tables and concrete covered in garbage that was not cleaned up from Saturdays festival goers...had to go find someone who got some people to come clean up the garbage on the concrete but nothing was done to clean the tables!! There was only 1 (one) CRAWFISH BOIL BOOTH WITH THE WORST BLAND OVERCOOKED CRAWFISH EVER FOR $25 FOR MAYBE A HALF-A-POUND! If this is the GRANDDADDY OF ALL CRAWFISH FESTIVALS...LORD HELP US!!! DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME OR MONEY......WE WILL NEVER COME HERE AGAIN......!!! Wish I could rate this with a negative star....doesn't even...