Crawfish, catfish and Coors

One of my favorite summer pastimes is scraping some money together with friends, buying 10 or more pounds of crawfish and steaming them in a giant pot. Thankfully, one of Sacramento’s best-kept secrets is its stash of local crawfish that live in rice paddies and in Delta wetlands. Well, maybe not really a secret, with two local festivals celebrating it: the annual Isleton Cajun Festival in June and this weekend’s Coors Light Crawfish & Catfish Festival in Sacramento. Organized by local festival promoter Louisiana Sue and sponsored by Coors Light, the two-day celebration will serve up plenty of Louisiana-style food (crawfish, catfish, alligator, barbecue, shrimp, oysters, etc.) as well as music (a handful of zydeco and Louisiana blues bands) and a kids’ area. Bring lawn chairs, an appetite and extra napkins. Noon-11 p.m., Saturday, September 8; noon-7 p.m., Sunday, September 9. $5. Rio Ramaza Marina RV & Event Park, 10000 Garden Highway; www.louisianasue.com.