Pearland Crawfish Festival

I second the last review in saying that this should be called the Pearland Line Festival. Be prepared to wait hours in unbelievably long lines for unbelievably mediocre food.

If you are there for Crawfish and Crawfish ONLY. Just go to your local crawfish place.
Festival??? The only festival part bout it, is the food, other than that MEH. I could have earned the parking money.

I’m a little less than thrilled about this place. My friend got groupons for this. When we arrived. it was free entry… –_​_​– Oh well, right? We go in anyway, out of the ENTIRE place, there’s only one small tent with crawfish. the rest is regular rodeo fare. It doesn’t really deserve the name. It should just be called a festival, because crawfish wasn’t a big part of it. At least the tent was selling them for 3.50 a pound… They weren’t bad, but this fest could be done much better. Good for kids though, and they had waterdogs. that was fun to watch.

Pretty spendy and not that much to do unless you just want to drink beer and eat crawfish all day which may be just the reason why people go. If you can get discounted VIP tickets, that’s the better way to go.

$ 5 parking, $ 8 entrance, $ 6 beer cans, $ 4 lb crawfish, $ 1 frozen corn, $ 1 potatoes, and if you want seasoning… that will be $ 1 extra.

You can get a Groupon for half off the entrance fee, which is no more than I’d spend on this event. Parking is $ 5, I hope you have a truck because your car might bottom out a few times. Only one vendor actually provided crawfish. Lines are huge because there’s only 1 spot for crawfish! Don’t bother getting early when the gates first open, because nothing is set up yet so you end up standing around. Crawfish didn’t even start rolling out until 1 – 2 hours after the gates opened. We were all literally standing in line for 30 minutes before they even started cooking the crawfish and setting out everything. Huge lines just waiting for them to set up. Why wouldn’t they do that before they opened the gates?
They advertise $ 3.99/lb but you actually have to buy 2lb and it’s actually $ 8, corn/​potatoes are extra. They were seasoned okay if you don’t like anything spicy, but there was no choice or options, crawfish take-​it-​or-​leave-​it. It really isn’t worth standing in line over an hour for.
The majority of the food was pizza, fried things on a stick and your typical turkey leg stuff and a couple of places that were serving reheated ettouffee, etc., which seems silly for a «crawfish» festival. Not much crawfish, no crawfish themes, or anything. A crawfish festival should have all kinds of ways to enjoy crawfish, and different seasonings and styles. How about some dipping sauces?
I hope you like the smell of cigarettes, because there’s no restrictions, so people are smoking everywhere and cigarette butts littered the ground. I’d rather smell delicious crawfish than tobacco! It’s about as appetizing as eating your crawfish in the porta-​potty.
Carnival rides looked pretty worn down and I didn’t see anything that they didn’t have last year. They were also rather expensive. Parents of younger kids of course have to ride with them, so you end up paying $ 8 for a 1 minute ride.
They had pony rides. But the petting zoo was gone.
There’s really not much to do. It was disappointing.

I hadn’t had a taste of crawfish all season long, so I was even more-​so motivated to visit the Pearland Crawfish Festival!
From my visit, I’d say it’s a very scaled-​down version of the Rodeo (vendor and game-​wise) with crawfish instead of livestock. I went before 3PM on Friday, so admission was free and it wasn’t too busy. The whole place is very family friendly, and I loved the diversity of the attendees! Parking cost $ 5, but all proceeds go to support education foundations.
The only complaint I have is that the crawfish wasn’t ready until around 1:30PM (the event opened at 11AM), so I wasn’t too thrilled to have to wait in (a long) line with a hungry stomach. The crawfish was decently priced at $ 4/​lb, but you could only buy in increments of 2 lbs. The corn and potatoes were an extra $ 2, and they weren’t seasoned with spices. I thought the caterers did a great job on flavoring the crawfish. It had just the right amount of spice for me.
Overall, pretty decent festival. I wasn’t there for too long, but it’s definitely worth checking out!

Great community event. Kudos to the organizers for the hard work well done!
You can’t please everyone for a large gathering like this. Although, my only concerns were the signage in the parking lot and the uneven grassy festival ground. I was walking carefully without injuring my ankles.
I got in free because it was just opened on the first day. I figured that I should spend money by buying something. The soda truck caught my attention. I love the ladies’ friendly smiles. Splash dogs was kind of fun to watch. Especially, seeing kids got wet from the splashes.
This was my first time visiting Pearland. I love this Shadow Creek Ranch area. After the festival, I headed to Town Center on Broadway (I think I helped the V&CB to achieve its goal).

let’s start from beginning to end:
parking: basically parking attendants had everyone parked on the grassy field, so if you dont have a suv, jeep, offroad vehicles, you’re in for a bumpy ride, not to mention a loooong walk to the entrance for most folks.
crawfish: well this is the main event, so i guess that’s why they (intentionally or not) had everyone waiting for the bugs… let’s see, the festival started at 11, but the crawfish wasnt ready until 1pm… yeah only 2 freakin hours wait right:) Taste wise, it’s obvious these bugs werent purged, since there are just too many sacks and takes too long, and more importantly they were lukewarm! Yeah yeah, they gave us a discount, lowered the price from 4 to 3 bucks a lb, but 2 hrs wait and cold crawfish? Oh by the way, 2 bucks for corn and potato…
Compare with the kemah festival, this is bigger, more kid-​friendly and more food selections and vendors… but the «main event» snafu and disappointment, i’d actually put more blame on Swamp Shack, the crawfish vendor for their unorganized and unprepared setting… oh well, maybe it’s due to first day of the festival, a bit of rough start, hope they’ll regroup rest of the weekend.

I was really looking forward to checking out this place on my Friday off when the in-​laws were visiting from out of town…
We arrived when it was advertised to be opened. The whole festival wasn’t even ready to open yet. Even with hardly anyone there yet, the parking situation was kind of a mess. No one to direct you where to go. There weren’t any signs that showed where the exact entrances are. After about 10 minutes walking around, trying to get into places that looked like entrances (but turned out to be vendor entrances and got yelled at for it), we finally got in. The workers didn’t really know what the heck was going on.
None of the food stands were ready. The crawfish stand didn’t have anything ready until after noon, even though the festival supposedly opened up at 11. The carnival rides weren’t ready because they didn’t have any tickets to sell, which sounds pretty ridiculous. Basically, a bunch of people showed up and wandered around for over an hour, just walking around in an open field while they watched all the vendors set up and cook. It’s a terribly organized event. I read some of the negative reviews from last year, and most say that it will probably be better this year.
Another negative point — there was a lack of trash cans at the festival. You would think that people will generate a ton of trash at festival/​carnivals. After eating an $ 8 cup of mediocre étouffée, I carried around my trash and walked all over the field looking to throw it away… In the end, my family decided to just leave after spending $ 10 parking for 2 cars, and the $ 8 on étouffée. Didn’t even have time to sit around and do nothing just to wait a couple of hours for the crawfish from 1 vendor.
My triple-​lined étouffée bowl (yes, that vendor actually served my food in 3 styrofoam bowls stacked together because she was too lazy to separate them and just use 1 for each customer)… is now sitting in my car because we couldn’t find a trash can.

First off, you have to pay to park — $ 5. No big deal, but they have the HUGE field to park cars in – why charge at all? Still, not a big deal. Bring a truck or an SUV here — everyone else did. The field is all bumpy and is NO place for a sportscar or idiots who can’t drive.
There are NO signs to anything — where the entrance is, where to buy tickets — NOTHING! Total confusion. No big deal, we stumbled across a VIP access entry and were given free access! YAY! I mean, hey, I AM a VIP, but wow. okay :) I guess it pays to look important!
So, getting in – no problem! The event was just okay — lots and LOTS of people, but the food situation was very hit or miss. The stand where you can get unlimited Old Time Soda was just okay — somehow the mugs (made of metal) really interfered with the soda and all my friend could taste was metal. not good. But hey, for $ 12 for all you can drink soda — not a bad idea. I just wished we would have bought an empty plastic drink container from somewhere else and just transferred it to that! Duh! protip for whoever goes this weekend :)
Next up: food! Food is everywhere — and I would avoid the places that do NOT have lines. This would include the red velvet funnel cake with icing place on the very south west side. Don’t get food here. It sucked. Hated to spend $ 7 to get something that was FAILURE and have to throw it away. Yuck! There is also a boudin place on the NORTH side of the event — avoid it like the plague.
On the other hand. there is a FANTASTIC Boudin sausage place that makes it with chicken! yes, CHICKEN! That little (HUGE) sausage was only $ 6 and filled with mind numbing orgasmic bites of boudin. HIGHLY recommended. Its on the south side of the event as well — just look for the Smoked Boudin Chicken place — it is to the left of you as you face the old timey soda place. Get the HOT (spicy) version. You will thank me later :)
You might ask why go to a crawfish festival without eating them? well, I don’t like crawfish, so I cant comment on those, although I’m sure you can find TONS better in Kemah and for cheaper.
Lastly, there is a Henna tattoo place. Pricey and I would avoid at all costs. My friend got a tattoo here and the «ink» was nice, but when it rubbed off, its just a very light colour orange, and not a deeper red. Save your money.
Drinks: There is Shiner and Blue Moon and a few other beers, but they are ALL in cans, and I detest beer in cans. So, drinks are just okay. We DID find one place serving REAL alcohol, in such a NOT obvious place near the carnival area. WTF. Product Placement much? Maybe so, as mommy and daddy need some to survive the kids running WILD around unsupervised here.
Overall, a pretty decent visit. Would I go back? Maybe — but there are TONS better places to eat and go to in Houston.

* First off, shout out to Unilocal for hooking my wife and I up with complimentary tix! I don’t understand why people are surprised or complaining about paying admission. This isn’t a charity event. The rodeo charges admission, as does the Texas State Fare. You can grab crawfish and eat outside anywhere, so don’t bother coming here if you are going to moan about paying admissions or over $ 5 (really, what are you still on an allowance from your mommy?).* On to my review…
Great family event, especially if it’s within walking distance from your house like it is mine.
I’m not a crawfish fan, I don’t like them on a plane, I don’t like them in a train, but the festival has much more to offer beyond mud bugs. I didn’t ride the carnival rides, but there where plenty to choose from and people appeared to be having a great time.
There are two stages set up with live music blasting, pretty cool. Miller lite is the official sponsor.
The vendors all appeared to be selling the same typical Fair fare (get it, no?). Of course I went to the tent/​vendor with all brothas (African-​Americans) on the pit. Man am I glad I did! Sausage on a stick and turkey leg was banging, SON! Smokey and Juicy just like I like it!
Oh yeah, it’s always fun to get a glimpse of Carneys. Such an unfortunate breed of
people. I’ve always theorized that all Carneys originate from the hills of West Virginia (sorry, not sorry).
Anyhow, it’s not Disney World or anything like that, but I wasn’t expecting for it to be, so that’s okay. Just a great community event that brings people together for the weekend.

We drove from Houston and had such a GREAT time that we went back the next Day for more FUN. Last year was the first year, so this year some of the things that were not perfect should be fixed– ie parking– line to get into parking. I though the prices were fine and the the bugs were good. We took camp chairs, so we could listen to music (that is what you do– at a FESTIVAL.- bring a chair if ya wanna sit!) We bought our tickets in advance online and it was $ 6.00 /​ticket that is as cheap as you are gonna get for a Fest FULL of GREAT MUSIC and FUN! We roamed a bit– but stayed at the Houston BLUES STAGE most of the day — Because the music was SO good!

I had an awesome time here! So awesome that I came twice…
Definitely took advantage of the free admission before 3 pm on Friday, which was great because not too many people were there. Lines were short and the crawfish were great! $ 30 for ten pounds. YES.
Saturday was a whole ‘nother beast, Massive lines. I feel sorry for the people that said their crawfish were tiny because I had no such problems either day. I mean, they weren’t huge by any means, but nothing I feel the need to complain about.
I even got my back worked on by a chiropractor.

I had a GREAT time…
STUFFED myself on good food and mudbugs and enjoyed great music.
Hint: Always bring a folding type chair to any festival.

We went on Saturday around 1:00. Lots of great food vendors, and we loved the music on both stages and the carnival rides. I’m not a big crawfish person, so I can’t judge the quality, but the other food we bought was really good. The lines did get longer as the day went on, and they needed more seating. But it was a beautiful day, the prices were reasonable, and the music was great. Oh and my favorite thing was probably Splash Dogs-​awesome!
I look forward to checking it out again next year.

The first Pearland Crawfish Festival — left a lot to be desired, but, then again, it’s the first. It’s not perfect but it was pretty cool. Carnival rides, carnival foods and the crawfish.
Whoever said their crawfish wasn’t good, I wanna go where they go because what we got was pretty good. The sizes were assorted some were huge and others small but nonetheless, not tiny! A $ 3/​lb for the 10 lb trays it was great! I paid $ 2.99/lb live that were smaller than that!
They can fix the kinks — again, it’s their first. They did post on their website that the crawfish was offered by one vendor. Lines were insane. Luckily, the weather was good. :) Gotta love/​hate the cray Texas weather!
Overall, it was fun, I’m sure they’ll do better next time (if there is one). I like their crawfish enough to want to visit their Kemah location, which I might do this weekend during HH. :)
BTW, which port-​o-​potties are ever clean?

A huge rip off, first you have to pay to get in and once you get it you have to pay again for everything! The crawfish they give you is ok, and very small pieces no big crawfish. Too many people and not enough seats to sit and eat.
I thought this event would be fun which it wasn’t. Almost everything was over $ 5.
Great idea, but terrible event. Its not even a festival!!! Pearland Crawfish RIPOFF is what it should be called.
Very stupid event. Do not go here you will waste your good earned money, save your money please!!!

Don’t. Just don’t.
45 minutes just to get into the parking lot. One spot for crawfish with a line about an hour and a half long. I don’t know whether the crawfish were good or not; I didn’t get any because I would have spent most of the day in line. We rode a couple of rides at usual carnival ripoff prices and left, then spent another long while waiting in line to leave.
If you enjoy waiting in line, then by all means this festival is for you. Otherwise, you’ll be better served finding somewhere else to go.

The Pearland Crawfish Festival should be renamed the Pearland Line Festival. Nothing but lines. Took 45 minutes to get onto the grassy field to park. Long lines to enter the festival grounds. Took 45 minutes in a very long line to get crawfish. Super long line just to get funnel cake. I gave up on the beer line. Long lines for the carny rides. Long lines just to leave (ended up just making my own exit onto the 288 feeder instead).
The crawfish was mediocre. The gumbo from the Swamp Shack concession was ok, but I was disappointed they ran out of boudin ball. Gets an extra star only because the Vertigo ride was decent. For some reason I had pictured in my mind different crawfish restaurants offering their goods, but ended up being just one stand for crawfish only. The live bands were ok with music varying from blues to zydeco. I can’t picture myself going back though.