By Oniska Blevins | The Selma Times-Journal

The Selma Lions Club has added something new to its Crawfish Festival in April. Community members will have the chance to check out cool cars while munching down on crawfish as the Selma Lions Club and the Valley Grande Mexican Restaurant combine their efforts to raise money for local causes.

The festival be held on April 14. Admission is $5 and grants entrance to both the festival and the car show. Gates will open at 9 a.m., and the event will start at 10 a.m.

This is the Lions Club’s fourth annual festival, and this year, they wanted to add something new to the event.

Director of the Central Alabama Crawfish Festival, Russell Haskell, said the decision to partner with the restaurant and include the car show was an easy one because it brings something new to the area.

“It’s not very often you get to see a car show,” he said.

“We thought it would be a very good idea to tie both events together and bring something different to the community.”

Haskell said another plus to combining the events is its inclusivity.

“A lot of people in town like crawfish and a lot of people like car shows,” he said.

“It’ll be a little something for everybody.”

Sergio Sanchez, owner of Valley Grande Mexican Grille, has been doing car shows for many years and is excited about bringing car shows to Central Alabama.

Participants will line up at 9 a.m. at the Advance Auto Parts located at 3065 Selma Highway in Montgomery. Sanchez said the special thing about this car show is that it is a car run and car show.

“We drive our cars from Montgomery to Selma,” he said.

They will then drive the historic route taken from Selma to Montgomery during the 1965 voting rights march. After they arrive in Selma, they will park their cars at Lions Fair Park as a part of the festival.

A complimentary buffet from Valley Grande Mexican Grille and registration are covered in the $20 entry fee.

Sanchez has been doing these car shows for three years and is excited to see the amount of growth it has made.

“Every year it keeps getting bigger and bigger,” he said.

“We joined the Crawfish Festival to make it even better and more fun.”

Sanchez said anybody that owns any type of car, whether it’s a classic or a newer model that’s a nice show car can be entered into the show.

Some of the categories that will be awarded include the best in Mustangs, Corvettes, hotrods and classics. To register for the car show contact Sergio Sanchez at (334) 369-0808.