Crawfish, Country Stars and a Cause: CrawFest 2025 Delivers

Crawfish, Country Stars and a Cause: CrawFest 2025 Delivers

Heather Almond and Zinat Ahmed

NEARLY 1,700 GUESTS headed to Cotton Ranch in Katy for Cotton Holdings’ 13th annual CrawFest — a Texas-sized evening of food and music. The event raised a record-breaking $768,000 for the Cotton Foundation, which supports families facing disaster, illness and hardship.


The real star of the evening? 6,500 pounds of crawfish, served up with all the fixings — plus Gulf Coast favorites like lobster fritters, seafood fondue, boudin balls and bread pudding with a boozy twist.

Guests got competitive during the live auction, which featured everything from Caribbean escapes to helicopter hog hunts. A chocolate lab puppy named Blue Bell stole the show — and a new home — with Cotton EVP Zinat Ahmed. He’ll be trained as an emotional support pup for visitors to Taylor’s Place, a retreat for families facing terminal illness that’s set to open this fall.

Closing out the night? A crowd-pleasing performance by country star Mark Chesnutt, who brought the house (or barn) down.

In the crowd was Pete Bell, Fady Armanious, Ellie Francisco, Whitney Kuhn Lawson, Kristen Cannon and Heather Almond.

Bailey Bell Layne and Pete Bell

Opening Performance by Bayou Roux

Houstonians traveled to CrawFest at the Cotton Ranch in Katy

Stacey Lindseth, Fady Armanious, Ally Ehrman

Balloon Details

Crawfish


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I AM AN accomplished philanthropist, esteemed motivational speaker, renowned fitness expert, and host of an engaging podcast UNHINGED. Through my diversified endeavors, I have established several successful ventures, including TR Beauty and The Vault, a private community catering to like-minded people. Additionally, I am the founder of Houston Style Icons, a platform dedicated to honoring and acknowledging Houstonian style, and Fashion Woodlands, an annual fashion show that I have meticulously curated. Furthermore, I actively engage with my audience through my YouTube channel, providing valuable content and insights.

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BRIAN BOYTER IS a Houston native with an interesting background in real estate. After an impressive 16-year tenure managing commercial transactions in a Fortune 500 Real Estate Investment Trust, he recently made the shift to high-end residential brokerage. The experience left him uniquely suited to thrive in the sometimes-emotional world of buying or selling a home.

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