One of Montgomery County’s biggest crawfish events and the state championship of all Texas mud bugs returns to Conroe this weekend.
The 6th Annual Crawfish Critic Cookoff is Friday and Saturday in the north parking lot of the Montgomery County Fairgrounds.
This year’s event has more than 40 crawfish cookoff teams and features crawfish social media-celebrities “Stalekracker” — known for his viral TikToks and signature catchphrase “Put dat on a cracker, dude!” — and Wade Fishez and Cooking With Cajun doing cooking demonstrations.
Here’s what to know about the annual Crawfish Critic Cookoff.
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Crawfish Critic history
The cookoff and festival is the vision of Christian Waldo, of Conroe.
He grew up loving crawfish. There’s even a photo of him when he was 3 on the front of The Courier sucking the head of a crawfish at Papa’s on the Lake.
As he got older, he came to appreciate the different flavors and tastes. He said the crawfish scene is a lot different today than it was when he was growing up.
He launched the Facebook group The Crawfish Critic for Montgomery County’s mud bug lovers to dish on their favorite place to get crawfish. The group now has 12,000 followers.
The event has outgrown its location nearly every year it has been held, starting in 2020. The festival has taken place at 3 Palms Action Sports Park in Conroe but moves to the parking lot north of the Montgomery County Fairgrounds for the first time in 2025.
The event can be accessed from Carl Pickering Memorial Drive.
What to know for this year’s Crawfish Critic Cookoff
A Cajun cooking demo with Stalekracker kicks off the event at 5 p.m. Friday.
“Stalekracker (aka Justin Chiasson) brings authentic Louisiana flavor and flair to every dish,” according to an event news release. Friday night’s festivities wrap up at 10 p.m.
The main event is from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday with an all-you-can-eat crawfish cook-off with Cajun and Zydeco bands, a dedicated Kids Zone (free for children 12 and under) and an Adult Fun Zone with games and challenges.
“This two-day, family-friendly festival is the ultimate celebration of Cajun flavor and Texas-sized competition, featuring unlimited crawfish, gumbo, and jambalaya, live music, kids’ activities and some of the best backyard boil teams from across the region,” according to the release.
John Sellars, of Conroe, has gone to the event the past two years and plans to return this weekend.
“I’m a casual crawfish eater, and I won’t ever miss this event,” he said. “It’s late in the season and the mud bugs are massive this time of year. Great opportunity for local folks to try some of the best crawfish recipes ever imagined.”
The cookoff also serves as the Southern Crawfish Cookoff Association’s Texas state championship.
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How to go to the Crawfish Critic Cookoff
General admission tickets are $40 and cover both Friday and Saturday and include all-you-can-eat crawfish, gumbo and jambalaya from top cook-off teams.
VIP tickets are $100 and include VIP areas and meet-and-greets with the social-media celebrities. Tickets may be purchased at the Southern Crawfish Cookoff Association website.
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