I’m as big a fan of Cajun and zydeco music as the next Louisianian, but what typically attracts me to Mudbug Madness – downtown Shreveport’s enormous annual Memorial Day Weekend festival – is the food. Mudbug Madness 36, set for May 24-26, 2019 in Festival Plaza, has made some improvements in food and beverage offerings that, in my opinion, could mean a dramatically improved festival-going experience for folks who love to eat and drink.

RSVP to the official Facebook event for Mudbug Madness 36.

For starters, this year’s fest will offer $5 lunch specials from participating vendors on Friday, May 24. According to several vendors, the vast majority of food booths will be offering a specialty dish for only $5, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., Friday, May 24. This doesn’t include the crawfish vendors, but just about everyone else – from funnel cakes to gumbo – will have a $5 lunch special.

Because I am a crazy person, I have secured a .PDF listing every item sold by every non-boiled crawfish vendor at the festival. If you, too, are crazy, you can download that .PDF here via Dropbox.

A photo of beer
Great Raft Brewing will host a beer garden at Mudbug Madness 36, May 24-26, 2019. Photo courtesy of Great Raft Brewing’s Facebook page.

Craft beer drinkers will also have a new way to enjoy the festival, as Great Raft Brewing will be hosting a 1,200-square foot beer garden and green space near the Louisiana Seafood NBC 6 Madness Stage. According to the Great Raft Brewing website, the Great Raft Beer Garden will feature “local beer, educated beer servers, yard games and more.” Admission to the beer garden is free, and brews can be purchased using regular Mudbug Madness concessions tickets.

Speaking of buying beverages, Mudbug Madness 36 will also include a “Happy Hour” from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Friday, May 24, during which all beverages of any kind will cost only $3. There’ll be new alcoholic beverage options for 2019, as well, including wine spritzers.

Mudbug Madness 36 will take place, 11 a.m.-11 p.m., May 24-26. Admission is $5 after 5 p.m. on Friday and all day on Saturday; check out the official Mudbug Madness website for more details on admission.

Enter our latest giveaway! Enter here to win a summer getaway package from the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau including dining, hotel accommodations, and more.

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