Celina’s Cajun Festival brings flavor and spice to the Square on March 23

by Emily Hill of Star Local News

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There a 5k, music, bounce houses, and more.

CELINA — Break out the crawfish bibs, it's time to discover Cajun roots, real or imagined.

The first-ever Celina Cajun Festival on the Square will be held next month, March 23, in the downtown Square. The Celina Cajun 5K Run will kick-off the day's activities at 8 a.m. at Light Farms, the new development at Dallas Parkway north of Frontier Parkway, before commencing at the Square at 11 a.m.

"You're seeing the community before it's there," said David Gaines, assistant to the city manager.

Participants in the 5K run can register online at active.com, or mail registration to David Gaines, 142 N. Ohio St., Celina, TX 75009. Adult tickets for the 5K run cost $30 and students 18 years and younger cost $20. Checks can be made payable to City of Celina.

Check-in time for the event is at 7 a.m. Following the run, breakfast will be available to all participants. Volunteers are still needed for the 5K run. Interested parties can contact Gaines at 972-382-2682 or at dgaines@celina-tx.gov.

The festival will continue with activities on the Square from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. with a car and motorcycle show sponsored by Jim's Automotive, a crawfish boil, vendors, a pet adoption, children's activities, live bands, and more. At 2 p.m., The Joel Martin Project will perform live on the Square. At 4 p.m., 2013 Grammy award winner Wayne Toups and ZyDeCajun will perform.

"You want to bring the community out and you want to attract other people to show off the town and the great Square we have," Gaines said. "It's exciting to show people what Celina has to offer."

Gaines said this event is something that does not exist in this area of Collin County right now. The new event will build community, bring people in and raise proceeds for the historic downtown Square and the city parks, he added.

"Our main goal is to bring people to the Square," said Terri Wilson, Main Street director. "We just want people to come out and enjoy all the activities."

The event will also feature bounce houses, face painting, and rock climbing wall among other activities. Downtown restaurants will be selling food outside of their businesses for purchase. These will be the only food vendors besides the crawfish boil, but other vendors are welcome.

Those who wish to be a vendor at the event can contact Wilson at 972-382-2078 or email twilson@celina-tx.gov.

"We've had a lot of help from the citizens," Wilson said. "We couldn't have done it without them."

Wilson added that Gentle Creek Golf Club in Prosper has been a major sponsor of the event.

"We appreciate their support," Wilson said. "They've been very helpful."

T-shirts for the festival are available for presale. Contact Gaines to purchase a $15 t-shirt. Bring lawn chairs or blankets for the live performances. Local bands will also perform on the Square.

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