I don't know how you screw up catfish or drawdads, with flying colors, but the entire event was jacked as well. Any event this (Babs) company is hosting, should be avoided. The amount of food was only about half of what they claimed it would be. And nobody looked like they have ever worked food before. Tons of standing around and on their phones. 0 professionalism. read more

Crawdad Festival - Festivals Near Me - Red Bluff, California

This was the most pathetically run event I have ever been to. There was virtually nothing crawdad related to this festival other than one vendor who sold out, and even when he did have some, it was over a two hour wait just to get them. Parking was atrocious and they had absolutely no traffic flow plan. It was a disaster for people trying to get in with people waiting upwards of 2 to 4 hours in traffic. The event coordinator should be refunding people their money. Hopefully somebody will be filing a lawsuit against this company because it was nothing more than a scam. read more

Nestled between Antioch & Sac is the tiny delta town of Isleton. Small town charm in a redneck, leather clad, Harley Davidson riding kind of way. The weekend festival has cheesy arts & crafts booths (anyone need some leather pants for the hot 80 degree weather?) and standard carnival rides/games (knock down those beer bottles, Bobby!) for the kids. It's the cajun music and crawdads that are the draw here. Learned how to suck the head and fish out the tailmeat method of meat of eating crawdads (not recommended for lazy/don't like feeling like a savage-eater like myself), which were SPICEY! So much bad for you good food - roasted butter slathered corn on the cob, crawdad sausages, hand-dipped ice cream. My favorites were the beignets fresh/hot/doused with powdered sugar and the refreshing ginger iced tea. Highlight was a photo with Mr. Crawdad himself! read more

Crawdad Festival - Mr. Crawdad Himself - Festivals Near Me - Red Bluff, California

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We just went today June 17, 2023 and were were not impressed. There is a long line of cars trying to park. The bottleneck is that there is only one person letting cars thru although there are plenty of staff standing around. Then there is a long walk to the gate. At the gate you have to fall in line again to get in. First there is a security check and then the gate pass check and a long wait. Here comes the best part. You need to fall in line to get a ticket and then fall in line to get the crawdad. How about spending 30 min to an hour falling in line? We passed this lines but ask the people eating the crawdad how is it. They said it is very bland. And they look quite small. There is not much seat around as all tables are occupied for the crawdad customers. In the rest of the vendor spots, there is no seats nor shade so you have to eat standing up in the sun. Another problem is the street is narrow and make the event very crowded. We ate a couple of food and decided to call it a day. It is not worth the $20 for the gate pass plus every food/item you buy you have to pay out of your pocket + $10 parking. We will not be back ever. read more

I went to the crawdad festival Sunday 6/18/23...(Totally a waste of time & money) this was the first year I wish I didn't go! I won't be back next year. It took almost 45 minutes just to get into the city And find parking. The line to get into the festival took another 30minutes, and they only take cash! (Great) The worse part was I didn't even get to buy crawdads. There was only 1 BOOTH selling crawdads the line was 2 hour wait, and they're only taking cash..! finally I go to another food truck and purchase some catfish that wasn't cooked all the way. some chicken wings that were nasty some carne asada fries they were ok And some nacho fries that she was nasty it tasted old. My family and I go to an area to sit down and we have to buy a drink in order to be able to sit at a table...mind you there isn't any space any where else to sit. we finally decide to leave because we've wasted so much money and time, mind you I'm still hungry because I dumped the cat fish and chicken because it was raw and disgusting. I would like someone to contact me regarding this event as I should be refunded my entrance fee. I've been coming to this festival since I was a little girl and have never had any problems. This year was the worse... Thank you, Natasha Edwards (925)481-9087 read more

My sister and I have been hooked on Isleton's Crawdad Festival for the last couple of years. We'd shop our hearts out venturing the dozens of vendors. Then we'd stuff our faces with not so typical county fair food. Crawdads... or crayfish, cooked Louisiana-style. With tons and tons of flavor. Alligator kabobs, deep fried twinkies, smoked turkey drumsticks, fresh (YUMMY) beignets.... I could go on and on. However, chatting with one of the locals today, I found out that the festival is now being organized by a different group of people. The changes threw me off. The festival is now a two day deal and not a three. The entrance into the festival throws you around a full block. Less vendors. None of the port-a-sinks... you know, the ones that go with the port-a-potties, but have pump soap and pump water were missing. Who wants to eat after NOT washing their hands? ewwww. The history of the festival is quite interesting.... the residents of Isleton are gracious. I really hate to see the festival take a couple of steps back of what it used to be. Maybe next year. read more

Crawdad Festival - Festivals Near Me - Red Bluff, California

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Aww this is the shiznit! I am so going to be there. I think that I'll either take my boat or ride with hubby on the bike. Traffic is a bear and so is parking. Just get there early and dress comfy. Get the crawdads in the outdoor eating area. Last year I went to the Chinese Restaurant on main street. The crawdads were good, but they put some sort of sauce on them, so they were some slippery little devils to eat. Bring lots of water, portable seating and sunblock! read more

Rating totally depends - if you have an aching for some good ole tasty crawfish, than this is the place. A small order (which is a heaping pile full) is only $5 and a VERY large pot pile is $15. There were a few other food items that looked tasty, but went untried - chocolate dipped frozen cheesecake, beignet's, alligator, etc... While we were there a band playing some good cajun country music came round and kept us entertained. Overall, the place was tiny with a few rides, few food stands, and the like. If you live nearby and want to enjoy some decent cajun food, come on by, but I wouldn't drive too far for this small town small fair. read more

I went here as a part of a fathers day weekend with my brother and dad. We went fishing right before this so we were up at 5am, already pretty saucy and definitely sun-burnt and most likely dehydrated. We came here not knowing what to expect and it was pretty frightening from the get go. Walking along the main downtown road, there were not too many interesting booths, the people there were definitely very drunk, and it was probably at least 100 out. After walking for many blocks, we finally came upon the actual festival and there was an entrance fee (c'mon to the Crawdad Festival?? pay like $3 to get into a dust bowl??) and $20 buckets of crawdads. I'm pretty sure an ATM took my brothers money, and there were these poor Budweiser Clydesdale's in cages where they could barely turn around with really small fans in 100 degree weather. So sad... To top it all off, right when we decided that this was a bit too much of a redneck party for us, I would say a good dozen or so police cars come driving right through the main festival, sirens blazing, scaring all the kids. We end up finding out, in the parking lot on the way to our car, that someone was shanked and that we were in the middle of some gang war and bounce as fast as possible! Problem: we can't make it out of Isleton because the cops have all the exits blocked.... It took us 30 minutes of sitting in our car, waiting for the police, with guns drawn, to arrest everyone. Despite all of this, I had to give it at least two stars because I actually learned how to eat crawdads (from this 6yo kid who was really good at shelling em...) and I met this guy who was dressed in full crawdad garb, who was a Weekend Warrior!!! This was probably not the best festival to attend, ever, but I can honestly look back on this ans smile because it was so memorable! read more

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This event did not live up to the hype. After recently spending some time in Louisiana I was excited to introduce my family to some of the things I observed. I admit that I'm not the most enthusiastic fan of fairs (I usually go to the Tehama county fair but not much beyond that) but I was very disappointed. I went with my family and although there was one booth selling crawfish and two stands with music and dancing there wasn't much to do (we walked around and saw all of the vendors,ordered a plate of crawdads-$20 for a styrofoam container, ate alligator on a stick ($8) rode a monster truck ($10/person), let my younger sisters slide down a couple of slides and then left. The only saving grace was that the crawdads tasted very good and the sisters enjoyed the water slides. Definitely not a good activity if you aren't bringing children. Parking was also free. read more

This used to be so much fun! Great music, great food, great everything. Then the various city factions started squabbling, hours were cut, entertainment cut, changed from open to gated, every year more and more "fixes" to problems that didn't exist. Last year ('08) was the final bullet to the head, courtesy of the fire department when the fire chief--Robert Bartley, busted this year for a DUI while in a city vehicle--moved the entire festival to an open field due to "fire hazard", even though the festival had been held since '86 downtown with no problems whatsoever, fire-hazard wise. To top it off, he then required all the vendors remove their tent tops (95 degree heat, no shade) unless it had a state seal and, if they wanted shade, made an "approved" silver plastic tarp available for $110. None of this had been pointed out to anyone prior to the event, even to the fact that they had moved the whole festival out of the town itself. The fire marshall, however, made numerous statements to the fact the he "had a gun". Vendors are not used to being informed that they can be shot to death by elected or appointed officals but when confronted with an overwhelmingly wrong situation that you created, I guess might makes right. At that point, about half the 60-80 vendors (down from hundreds and hundreds in previous years), said "Screw it and you.", packed their wares and left. I This year they had (supposedly) 10 vendors and needed a minimum or 60 to give it a shot, more yet to pay the bills, and so had to cancel. If nothing else, it goes to show alluding to death by officially weilded weaponry does not enfranchise your vendor base, and that if you display the attitude of "This is the way we do it, here. If they don't like it, they can go elsewhere!" long enough, they will go elsewhere. And did. Shame what they did to it, but they've been running it into the ground for the past 5 years. I hear that itty bitty little man, fire chief Robert Bartley--who left under a cloud from Rio Vista, according to the papers--has now been fired or is under suspension. There are elements that would love to bring this festival back, but before leaving for it next year--should it become resurrected--you MUST find out first if it is going to be downtown or not. If not, stay home. Then, find out how MANY vendors and if under a hundred, stay home. Lastly, find out the gate. Anything over $5, especially if the vendor count is down, stay home. However, if they EVER get it back to anything close to what it was, get your butt down there. It was truly special, and it is truly missed. read more

To all who miss the The Crawdad Festival last year in 2009 in Isleton, CA has been moved to a new location for 2010 : Tehama District Fairgrounds in RED BLUFF, CA, located north of Sacramento. From Interstate 5 Take the Hwy 36 / Antelope Exit Continue East on Antelope to the Tehama District Fair Grounds Located on the left. I found the website with more information. Here goes: www. rwildhorseranch .net Just under the Welcome, there is a box on the right side with a animated crawfish, click on that box for more information. It is on Father's Day weekend June 18th, 19th, and 20th, Friday thru Sunday . Come one, come all. Let the GOOD TIMES ROLL. There may be more updates for the CRAWDAD Festival, do call information listed on the website. read more

It was a perfect experience. We were newbies. First timers. Wind was up a bit today, but the temperature pleasant. Not a large affair. Easy to walk through. Plenty of food venders (most important) and other craft venders as well. Great music. Some attendees were dancing with gusto. Beer available, but we skipped it much to my distress. Well, we cased the joint. Got the lay of the land. Found the crawdad concession. Saw the size of the big order and the small order. We went small for $10. But first we went to the corn booth. 2 ears for $7. Water $1 each. Dipped our corn in a pot of liquid butter looking stuff. Stopped at their condiment table. Salt. Oops too much. Hit the crawdad concession. Got our load and settled at a park bench. Shortly joined by two of the most beautiful blonds. I choked up a little. Tried to get out my best pickup line: Do you come here often? They looked at me and realized immediately that I am suffering from dementia. I got a pass from them and a kick from my wife. At this moment I don't know why she did that. Before we left I wanted to try the climbing wall. Just for a moment I felt like Tarzan. They took one look at me as I flexed my stomach to make my abs ripple and they said it would take all their safety straps to protect them from me. The warning sign said in part, "reality check." I got the message and left discouraged. It could have been a really perfect day. She mumbled all the way home. read more

The original one in Isleton is back and better than ever. Elvin Bishop is headlining as it's now the Cajun & Blues Festival. Award winning Karen Lovely is also on the bill. Terry Hank,Andre Thierry just to name a few. I don't care for events at fairgrounds...except a county fair lol...Looking forward to the 2013 Cajun & Blues Festival in Isleton California. It used to be The Isleton Crawdad festival. The Isleton Chamber of Commerce started it many years ago and it grew into 50,000-70,000 festival goers before it got mismanaged. The previous Chamber was disbanded. The new Chamber under the leadership of Jean Yakotobi, revived it in 2011, and made it family orientated and now are including blues music and it should be better than ever! Jean Yakotobi owns the 25 Main st Deli and offers the best sandwiches in the delta. Peters Steak House has the best prime Rib. This year the Festival will have fresh home grown California Delta Crawdads. Over a dozen bands Cajun, Zydeco and Blues. I hear parking will be free, at least the festival will not be charging. Small entry fee for adults but children are free again! Make your plans now for June 14-15 & 16 2013 Fathers Day weekend. more info here.. http://www.deltanewsandreview.com/2013/04/saving-isletons-cajun-blues-festival.html read more

I went for the first time in 1996 it was alot of fun. Everything was free. The whole town was involved. There were many arts and craft booths. Good music from Peru, Dixie and alot more. The food was awsome and the people were nice. Where did all the good stuff go? The past couple of years they starting to charging to park, and charge entrance. And to top it off, it is now held in the back field "very very dusty. It was awful, I will not be going anymore. What a disappointment. Ratings have dropped from 5 to 1. read more

Had a wonderful time at the Crawdad Festival in Exile in Red Bluff this past weekend. Great food, Great music and lots of fun people. Fabulous weather, just right not to hot. Loved eating crawdads, alligator, and yes it does taste just like chicken, and listening to the wonderful music. People watching was great fun also. The staff and volunteers were helpful and extremely nice. I noticed some folks thought it was pricey, however I don't think it was any more expensive than going to our County Fair. This was our first visit, we never attended the Isleton Crawdad Fesitval so don't really know how it compares, just know this Festival was great and I hope it continues. read more

How pathetic this poor crawdad festival has become. It was moved to Red Bluff which is fine but held far away from the water in the hot hot fairgrounds and God forbid anything should be in the cool buildings. The vendors are way away from the food so most people weren't shopping and there were very few vendors anyway. There was very little fun being had, no parades, no merriment, just beer swilling and food. BORING! Glad to see Isleton has seen the light and brought the fun back to town in its new form as the Isleton Cajun Festival. Will be there next year and leave this sad excuse for a festival behind. read more

The original one in the Sacramento delta is the best! Been to both and the Red Bluff one is just a "knock off" the Isleton one is right on the river and so much more to do before and after the festival. The Islton one is right in the middle of town, great old town charm and historical places with a museum and delta ambiance. read more

Went to both last year also. The Cajun festival in Iselton was horrible. The crayfish came from China and tasted like rubber and there was very little shade or a place to sit and eat. Other than that the music was so-so. I did like the vendors. I'm also hearing they might not even have it this year. I sure hope they get it right if they do, used to be an awsome festival in the day. I drove up to Red bluff not expecting much, boy was I wrong great food and music. Just like home!! Talked to the guys at the cookin rig and found some off them go to my home town of Henderson, La every year to get their crayfish and that's where they learned to cook'em. That's where I'll be next year for sure. Red Bluff Crawdad Festival here I come. read more

really bad made the short trip from redding left after about 10min bad food over priced I wont go back again stay home save your self the gas and money not worth it at all read more