By all accounts, Cajun Fest 2021, the first official Downtown Wichita Falls Development event since this whole pandemic thing began, was a huge success. The weekend news was reporting that it was the most well attended Cajun Fest ever, the music was great, there were lots of people dancing, and I talked to several people who were loving the crawfish.

Here are a few images from last Saturday's downtown Wichita Falls party.

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Erick Willis was already on stage by the time I arrived and he pretty much had the crowd eating out of the palm of his hand. He split his set between tunes with the full band and some solo acoustic work.

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While Erick was on stage, several people were dancing on 9th Street beside Bud Daniel Park.

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Every time I go to one of these downtown events this couple is there. And every time I see them they're dancing.

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Young or old, when the music hits you, you just have to get out there and move those feet.

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But there was more to do than dance. There was crawfish to eat and plenty of tables and chairs made that easy.

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Some of the crawfish was a little on the jumbo side and loved to be the center of attention.

Lots of folks were simply enjoying the beautiful weather and outdoor festival fun.

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There was sidewalk chalk for the kids.

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There was corn hole for the grownups.

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And plenty of great times with great friends for everyone who showed up.

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Oh, yeah. If you got there early enough there was even a guy with a kangaroo.

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If you've been to any of the downtown street festivals in the past, this one was pretty simple. But as a move back toward some semblance of normalcy it was a huge occasion and everyone that was there seemed to be enjoying the day.

Downtown Wichita Falls Development says that more big downtown events are on the way including the 40th Annual Hotter'N Hell Hundred in August and the City Lights Christmas Festival in the fall.

If you have any ideas on how to make these festivals bigger and better, reach out to Downtown Wichita Falls Development and let them know, then volunteer to help at the event, they'll love that.

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