Lacombe’s annual crustacean celebration, the Lacombe Crab Fest, will also celebrate the opening of a huge new community center this year on the grounds of John Davis Park.

The festival is set for June 28, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and June 29, 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.

The 14,000-square-foot building, a long-time dream and three years in planning, will serve as a gymnasium for the youth of Lacombe to play basketball and volleyball. Space has also been allocated for offices, a meeting room and concession area.

In addition, the building will be available to rent for wedding receptions, meetings and other special events.

Often hailed as the largest crab-themed festival in the south, the Lacombe Crab Fest ’08 will feature nonstop live entertainment, crab cook-off and gumbo competitions and an interactive cultural village. Featured will be artists’ demonstrations and games as well as climbing, sliding and jumping obstacles for the kids.

Local restaurateurs will team up with local nonprofit organizations to prepare and offer a variety of seafood and crab dishes and all sorts of beverages.

“This unique partnering of established restaurants with nonprofits gives the nonprofits a way of raising money while ensuring quality fest food,” said Brian Schneider, the organization’s spokesman. “Last year, volunteers were able to raise $50,000 for their nonprofit organizations.”

The crab cook-off competition, honoring the late Sparky Arceneaux, will be held on Saturday, while the gumbo competition will be held on Sunday. Both will begin at 1 p.m.

While entry in the crab cook-off is free, gumbo competition participants must pay a $50 entry fee.

Celebrity judges will sample the entries to select first-, second- and third-place winners for both competitions.

“We encourage everyone to give the competitions a try,” said Lisa Maddox. “The first-, second- and third-place crab cook-off winners receive $100, $50 and $25, respectively, while the gumbo winners receive $250, $100 and $50.”

The registration form and rules are available at various Lacombe businesses and at the Recreation District office in Lacombe.

To help fund the Fest, organizers are seeking sponsors.

The levels of sponsorship are: “Bushel of Crabs” for $5,000, “Soft Shell Crab” for $2,500, “Buster Crab” for $1,000 and “Gumbo Crab” for $500. Learn more about sponsorship opportunities by logging on to the Fest Web site at www.lacombecrabfest.com.

Admission to the Fest is $3 per person per day until 5 p.m., then increases to $5 for the evening entertainment.

Fest attendees already in the park at 5 p.m. will not be required to pay the additional fee.

Children under 10 are free at all times.

For more information call 882-3010.