At the top of the Delta, just south of Memphis, and 10 minutes from the bustling Tunica Casinos lies the town of Tunica and every April, there is a party going on! Tunica is known as the South’s Casino Capitol but visitors and locals alike are invited to take in the local fare that is the annual Tunica Rivergate Festival. Set for the weekend of April 25th-26th, visitors can head down to Rivergate Park located in quaint downtown Tunica to enjoy live music, arts & crafts, BBQ and of course, crawfish! Each year Crawfish Alley serves up over 12,000 pounds of hot fresh mudbugs as people keep coming back for their fill of this local delicacy.
The party kicks off Friday afternoon with fun for the entire family. Children can enjoy the petting zoo and pony rides, while adults can register for the Horseshoe Tournament- all skill levels accepted! Stick around Friday night for the Skin & Bones Circus Show and get your boogie on with Ocean Street in concert. When you hear the sirens going off, don’t be alarmed, that is the signal letting everyone know that a fresh batch of crawfish is ready at Crawfish Alley!
Saturday kicks off with the return of the 5K Enduring Freedom Run/Walk followed by the Tunica Bike Ride. The streets will be lined with arts and crafts and food vendors, as well as children’s activities like the 5th Annual Children’s Bicycle Race, Petting Zoo, Pony Rides and the Skin & Bones Comedy Circus. New this year is “Art You Can Sit In” provided by the Tunica Arts Council. You won’t be able to miss that familiar sound of pipes in the air as the “Running of the HOGS” returns Saturday morning! By now you have worked up an appetite and the smell of BBQ is in the air as competing teams dish up their best ribs, margaritas, Bloody Mary’s and an “anything but” category. Now you will know what it means when you hear the sirens and horns going off at Crawfish Alley and they will be serving up steaming hot platters of mudbugs until they run out!
Saturday evening will bring the live music back as you enjoy the sounds of Delta Heart set to play at 2:30 pm. Stick around as the party continues as we hear music by Mississippi Stomp beginning at 4:00 pm with all winners of the BBQ contest being announced during the first break of the performance.
We invite you to bring the whole family down to Tunica this April for the annual Tunica Rivergate Festival- rain or shine it’s sure to be a good time!