The lobsters are coming.

That’s what banners outside of the St. Paul’s Episcopal Church say to let the community know that it’s almost time for the annual Lobsterfest.

The tasty event is a fundraiser that the church does every year to raise money for Little Friends School.

“It’s a wonderful event because it involves the whole community and the whole church,” said Nancy Travis, chairwoman for the event. “We’re just real excited about it. We want to invite the community to come out and join us.”

Travis said last year they sold around 500 lobster plates, and they are hoping to sell just as many if not more this year.

“We enjoy it. It takes us all week to get ready for. We start Monday morning and everybody works together, it’s wonderful,” Travis said.

The lobsters are some of the finest you will find anywhere, Travis said.

“These are live Maine lobsters,” Travis said. “They’re shipped from Maine to Mobile, put on a truck and brought over here to Selma.”

Barbara Leet, co-chair for Lobsterfest, said the fundraiser is exciting because it brings in people from outside the church.

“We have the church open if they want to tour the church, so it’s an opportunity to bring a lot of people together that maybe have never been to St. Paul’s, they’ll have the opportunity to look at our beautiful church,” Leet said. “It’s a once a year fundraiser that St. Paul’s does for Little Friends School so it makes it special to all of us.”

Leet said for the people dining in, there will be social time before the meal for people to interact with one another and maybe see some people they haven’t seen in a while.

“They also get to enjoy a social time before they are taken upstairs to be seated. It’s downstairs with music, we have our pianist and our organist here that play for us … and they get to enjoy the company of each other before they are seated,” Leet said. “It gives everybody in the church an opportunity to be involved in a fun event.”

The annual Lobsterfest is set to take place Thursday, Oct. 8 at the church.

For those who choose to eat in, tickets are $35. For those who want their meal to go, tickets are $30.

Seating is limited for those eating in and will rotates at 6 p.m., 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased by calling the church at 874-8421 or by visiting Butler-Truax Jewelers or the Real Estate Gallery.

All tickets must be purchased by Wednesday, Oct. 7.

“We just encourage people to hurry up and [buy their tickets],” Travis said.