Community Crawfish Boil, food galore planned for Red Brick Roads fest
By Sherry Lucas
The Red Brick Roads Music & Arts Festival wraps together a wealth of community creativity on Olde Towne Clinton’s brick streets, in song, stories, artwork and good eats.
As a special Saturday treat welcoming the festival’s move from August to late March, T’Beaux’s will have crawfish onsite, covering the heads and tails of deliciousness as one of several food options for festival-goers.
The Red Brick Roads Festival is Thursday, Friday and Saturday, March 27-29 in Olde Towne Clinton. The event is a joint production of the Clinton Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Clinton and the City of Clinton.
The festival’s new date coincides with crawfish season, so when organizers reached out to T’Beaux’s owner Kelly Ray to gauge interest, his answer was “Absolutely!”
One of his kitchens-on-wheels will be at the festival Saturday only, serving crawfish. Organizers consider it a Community Crawfish Boil, with plates of crawfish and sides available for purchase onsite.
T’Beaux’s shack has been a Highway 80 fixture in Clinton since 2007, serving up boiled seafood to happy eaters. When it comes to crawfish, “Oh, man, this is our Super Bowl. This is our time of the year,” Ray said. “It’s gotten so popular over the years, everybody looks forward to it.” March, April and May are typically prime crawfish time.
Other festival food options span the range, from food trucks to restaurants right on the festival grounds. Small Time Hot Dogs and Lucy’s Lemonade will be at the Red Brick Roads Festival, and perhaps a few more , Main Street Clinton Director Tara Lytal said.
Restaurants within the festival area include 303 Jefferson, Catering by Cathy, The Spring Nutrition, The Bank, Coach’s Creamery, Meme’s Brick Street Bakery and the new Krilakis.
“Business has been amazing so far in Clinton,” said Krilakis owner Drew Creel, who opened his second metro area location in Olde Towne on January 29 with Greek gyros, Greek salads, burgers and fries, all made fresh.
“We’re happy to be here.”
He looks forward to his first Red Brick Roads Festival and the revelers it will attract. Bring them on.
“We’re quick anyway. That’s kind of our business model,” he added, with a chuckle.
