13-04-2025
9th Crawfish and Cannons brings music and history together
YOUNG COUNTY (KFDX/KJTL)— Another year another successful fundraiser for Fort Belknap as the 9th annual Crawfish and Cannons wraps up.
It's the fort's biggest fundraiser, and it even attracts visitors from as far away as the DFW area. While many people come for the crawfish and the music, the setting at the historic fort along the Goodnight-Loving Cattle Trail provides a unique backdrop and atmosphere for music lovers and history buffs alike to enjoy the day.
While the music plays in the background and the cannons fire, the blend of the two is what Ray Johnson, commander of Good's Light Artillery Battery, said is the most unique part of the whole experience.
'It gets the people here,' Johnson said. 'Once it gets it here, whether you're interested in history or not, you can't not pass up on some of the buildings, like the powder magazine, the museum, the barracks, the officer's quarters and not get a feel of what was it like for those people.'
The event has become so popular over the years that some people, like Jake McCoy have made it a family tradition. He even proposed to his new fiancée, Sophia Castro at this year's Crawfish and Cannons.
'We've been coming, and we have a place nearby and we make a point to come every year,' McCoy said. 'This is her second time, so this is a special place for me and my family, and we felt like it was an important place to do something like this.'
This year's musical guests were country bands 'The Wilder Blue' and 'Shenandoah.' Before the crawfish boil started, there was a run hosted to honor the Goodnight-Loving Cattle Trail which started at the fort all the way back in the 1860s.
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