Crowd turns out for Old Depot’s Low Country Boil
Published 7:53 pm Friday, June 7, 2013
More than 250 residents came out to chow down on crawfish, corn, sausages and shrimp at the Old Depot Museum Thursday night for a low country boil. Proceeds from the event will go toward repairs at the museum, which sits at the end of Water Avenue in the historic district. –Sarah Cook
The Old Depot Museum, located on Martin Luther King Street, seemed anything but old Thursday night, as the community came out in droves to raise money to renovate and restore the historic site all while chowing down on platefuls of crunchy crustaceans at the Depot’s first Low Country Boil.
The courtyard behind the museum came to life as Selma resident Paul Garner and his guitar serenaded more than 250 people as they made their way to tables set up in the grass beneath the trees.
Museum curator Beth Spivey said she was thrilled with the turnout.
“I’m very pleased. This is a wonderful thing to see everybody out here,” Spivey said. “The community really came out to support the museum.”
Spivey said the money raised at Thursday’s event — more than $6,000 — will be put towards fixing the Depot and bringing it up to date.
“I want the museum to have new lights, ceiling fans, windows and flat screen TVs to continually show old pictures,” Spivey said.
Though it was the first event of it’s kind at the Depot, Spivey said it went off without a hitch and “everything was perfect.”
“The atmosphere was great, everyone seemed happy; the food was great — I just thought it was a really good time,” she said. “So many people came out to help; everything was perfect.”
Spivey said the event provided many in attendance with their first opportunity to discover all the Depot has to offer.
“There were a lot of people that I met [at the event] who had never been here before,” Spivey said. “It’s huge, and a lot of people didn’t really ever realize what was back [behind the Depot] and I’m ready to open it up to Selma.”
Spivey said because the event was such a success, she plans on hosting more events at the Depot in the future.
“I would love to have a live Cajun band and crawfish boil and maybe do a barbecue and a fish fry — I definitely want to do this again,” she said.
Elise Blackwell, president of the Old Depot Museum Board said she was excited about enjoying some, “really good, low country food,” as she thanked those who partnered with the Depot — Bama Budweiser, Winn Dixie, Kentucky Friend Chicken, among others — who help make the night a success.
