DAPHNE, Ala.—The fiddles were strumming, the crawfish were boiling and folks were walking around with fried alligators on sticks at last weekend’s Gulf Coast Zydeco Music and Crawfish Festival at the Daphne Civic Center.

Guests came from as far as New Orleans and Charleston, S.C., to partake in the festivities, so a weekend full of rain and inclement weather wasn’t about to stop them from enjoying the atmosphere.

“I drove five hours to be here,” Ronald Johansson, of New Orleans, said. “A little bit of rain ain’t gonna hurt me. I’m gonna get soaked dancing out there anyway.”

Mary Angela Catone, of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., for the third year came with her family.

“We come each year to this thing,” Catone, whose Cajun roots trace back almost 300 years, said. “It’s a way for me to show my kids what the culture is all about.

“We don’t get a chance to go home as often as I’d like to see the family, so they get their Cajun education here.”

Lisa Trehorn of Daphne brought her family for the first time, though she had attended last year’s festival with some friends.

“I came last year and had a great time,” she said, holding her 3-month-old daughter, Miranda. “So I thought I would bring the family this time. They’re having a great time.”

Saturday was the big day as the city celebrated “Community Day,” offering a wide range of free musical performances outside the Civic Center.

Activities—such as an arts-and-crafts table; balloon animals with Weavo the Clown; and all the iced fountain drinks one could consume—kept kids entertained.

“This is my third,” Andy Porter, 7, of Bay Minette, said through a blue-green stained mouth. “I’m gonna try the red one next.”

But the main attraction was the music—and there was plenty of it—with performances from: Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble; Lil’ Nathan and the Zydeco Big Timers; Leon Chavis and the Zydeco Flames; Brian Jack and the Zydeco Gamblers; and Terry and the Zydeco Bad Boys.

If the majority of guests came to dance the night away to the zydeco vibes, then the rest were on hand to indulge in a vast array of Cajun delicacies.

“I love crawfish. I love everything about it,” Gene Kirby said. “I’d eat it every day if I knew how to cook it.”

“I’ve never eaten alligator,” Sue Wahini, of Gulf Shores, said. “I love it. But I thought it would taste more like chicken.”

“I’m a sucker for a funnel cake,” Angela Martinesque, of Atlanta, said. “I know they’re bad for me, but they’re just so good!”