By: Oniska Blevins

Even with cloudy skies, the smell of Cajun spices and sounds of revving engines still filled the air at Lions Fair Park Saturday for the Lions Club’s fourth annual Crawfish Festival.

This year the organization added some wheels to the festival, and incorporated The Valle Grande Mexican Grille car show into the festivities.

Guests didn’t let a little rain spoil their fun as they started to arrive shortly after the gates opened at 9 a.m. Director of the Central Alabama Crawfish Festival Russell Haskell said they were on a roll right after the event started.

“It’s been a wild morning so far, but it’s worth it in the end,” he said.

The Selma Lions Club does fundraisers throughout the year to raise funds to support their mission of eyesight preservation.

“We put a lot of glasses on people who are underprivileged, and can’t afford them,” he said.

If the mudbugs didn’t sound appetizing, festival goers had other food items to choose from. Gyros, kabobs, chicken on a stick and even gator on a stick were all available for purchase.

All proceeds from the event were donated to the Lions Club’s programs that benefit sight preservation, and to the Valle Grande Mexican Grille’s charity of choice.

Haskell said the organization is excited to continue the tradition ,and even more excited about what it brings to the community.

“This is the fourth year we’ve done it,” he said. “It’s a way for us to give back to the community. It’s a family friendly, fun event to get the community to come out and raise money for a good cause.”

Sergio Sanchez, owner of Valley Grande Mexican Grille, said a lot of the car owners don’t participate in car shows if there is any chance of rain ,so some of them chose not to participate because of the weather.

However, he said, he was still happy with the turn out.

“Even with the rain, this is still an amazing turn out,” he said.

There were over 100 cars lined up for view, while their owners awaited information on placement and prizes.

Sanchez said he is excited to see the excitement the car shows bring to people in Selma.

“Some of these cars you only see them in magazines, and some of them you only see them in museums,” he said. “Bringing them here, it gives the little kids something to look at.”

Participants lined up at 9 a.m. at the Advance Auto Parts located at 3065 Selma Highway in Montgomery.

They drove the historic route taken from Selma to Montgomery during the 1965 voting rights march. They arrived at the festival and parked their cars and became a part of the festival.