Cajun festival to take place in downtown Chandler next month, tickets on sale now

PHOENIX — People can get a taste of New Orleans’ French Quarter from right here in the Valley at a Cajun festival set to take place in downtown Chandler next month.

Tickets are on sale now for the Angry Crab Shack Southwest Cajun Festival on Feb. 26 at Dr. AJ Chandler Park (178 E. Commonwealth Ave.). General admission is $12 for the family-friendly festival that will run from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m., with the price rising to $20 at the door.

Along with Mardi Gras food favorites like gumbo, frog legs, beignets and king cake, people can also enjoy live painting, stilt walkers, magicians, an eating contest and a Mardi Gras float, according to a press release.

Giant seafood boils created by Angry Crab Shack will be stationed at multiple locations around the event, along with a drink tent known as “The Swamp” that offer hurricanes, frozen daiquiris and other Mardi Gras-themed cocktails.

Other activities include kids Mardi Gras mask decorating, cornhole, jenga, connect four, checkers, kong pong, ladder golf, a maze and a live alligator petting zoo.

Jazz, blues and zydeco bands will provide entertainment, along with a DJ and a strolling brass band.

“Whether it’s the smell of the seafood boil, the sounds of our brass bands, the thrill of our live gators or the thousands of beads being thrown, we want you to feel like you are transported right inside NOLA!” David Horen, director of events at producer Forty8 Live!, said in the release.

The thousands of beads will be tossed from the second-story of French Quarter replica balconies, event organizers said. People are also encouraged to wear costumes.

A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Greater Cause Foundation, which provides funding to a variety of organizations including the Children’s Cancer Dream Network, Military Assistance Mission, 100 Club of Arizona, Salt River Wild Horse Management Group, Matthew’s Crossing Food Bank and Heidi’s Village.

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