By Chelsea Vance | The Selma Times-Journal

An event created last year is coming back for another round in 2016.

The Central Alabama Crawfish Festival will be April 9 from noon to 8 p.m. at the Selma Lions Club Fair Park.

Selma Lions Club member and festival director Russell Haskell is excited about this year’s festivities and expects them to be even better than last year’s inaugural event.

“We found a need in the community for just having a family-friendly event,” Haskell said.

Lions Club members and other volunteers will come together to cook crawfish, corn on the cob and red potatoes. Unlike last year, people will have the choice to buy crawfish in bulk in addition to by the plate.

General admission is $5 for guest ages five and up. All proceeds will help the Lions Club with its main mission of providing eye care and glasses for those in need.

In addition to offering the festival’s namesake, there will be several other food vendors for those who may not eat crawfish.

“It’s going to be a pretty big variety. We’ve got someone doing barbecue, hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, pizza, fried chicken, shish kabobs,” Haskell said.

Purchases from vendors are not included in the price of admission. In addition to food, there will also be other vendors offering arts and crafts, jewelry and clothing.

As for entertainment, Shelby Brown, Marcus Frazier and Anthony Orio are set to perform. There will also be games and inflatables for children.

More than 750 people attended the festival last year, but Haskell expects double that number this year.

VIP tickets are also a new feature this year. They are $50 and include unlimited crawfish, access to a VIP bar area, meet and greets with the musical guests as well as other raffles and giveaways.

More information on the crawfish festival can be found on Facebook at the Central Alabama Crawfish Festival page. Those interested in purchasing VIP tickets should contact Haskell at (334) 267-6189.