SouthEast Crab Feast

The SouthEast Crab Feast is a sold-​out event that happens once a year in Charlotte. Ticket options include early bird ($ 20), general admission adult ($ 29), and general admission kid ($ 12.50). By the time I got wind of the event, early bird tickets were already sold out, so I went as an adult — generally admitted.
The event is held at Park Road Park, and parking was fairly easy — we were waved into a lot by a helpful park ranger, and walked a few feet down some steps, and around the baseball fields, to get to an area with tents, jazzy/R&B music, a lot of people, and the fragrant wafts of old bay seasoned and boiled seafood.
What you get:
— a piled plate of 3 – 5 boiled blue crabs
— low country broil: sausage, shrimp, potato, and corn
— fork
— plastic bib
— paper towel
— it’s all you can eat, so rinse and repeat the items above
Drinks are for purchase — about $ 1-​$ 2 depending on water/​soda. Beer was not an option. BOOOO.
Tips:
— Get there early to grab seats at the tables provided OR bring your own tables and/​or chairs, as some other knowledgeable people did.
— Bring your own crab-​eating tools as you are only given forks.
— Be patient. For the first hour or so, it will take 20 – 30 minutes to get through the line to get your next plate. But if you will hold out, you’ll get to zip through the line with little to no wait.
— Bring wet wipes to keep your digits in good shape.
I had a great time at the Crab Feast! For every plate of crabs, there were about 1 or 2 that were amazingly delicious, and a few others that were piddly, and didn’t have much meat. But the 1 or 2 that were amazing made it all worth it. I felt for the amount of time I was entertained, and the amount of food I consumed, the price was reasonable. I’ll try harder to get the early bird ticket next year, but I didn’t feel jipped for paying $ 29.
Note: It’s better to go into events like this with an open mind to meeting and rubbing elbows with people you wouldn’t normal sit down and eat with. i actually enjoyed that aspect of the event very much!