Call ’em mudbugs, crawdads, crawfish, or crayfish – doesn’t matter a bit, as long as there’s a steaming red mound of the boiled critters in front of you, preferably accompanied by plenty of ice-cold beer and a zydeco band. Is that how you want to spend your Memorial Day weekend? Then point your car towards northern Louisiana (Shreveport, to be precise) for at the 33rd annual Mudbug Madness.

Poster, Mudbug Madness, Shreveport, LA

Crawfish trays come complete with corn and potatoes. They’ll have plenty of other Louisiana food favorites available as well. You may choose to enter one of the three crawfish eating contests — men, women, or children — or cheer on the participants in the celebrity crawfish eating contest. There’s also a crawfish calling contest, which is best entered after you’ve had a few beers. Besides zydeco, there’ll be Cajun, blues, and jazz artists, and lots of children’s entertainment. See the festival website for all the details.