It’s crab season, and Mineral County’s local Elks Lodge #1704 will be hosting its annual Crab Crack this weekend spanning two nights on March 10-11, 2023. Tickets sold out in the first week for this highly anticipated event, which raises money to benefit local nonprofits in Hawthorne. The Crab Crack hosts 70 people per night- 140 total.
“This is a huge event for Hawthorne, people enjoy the night out,” says Elks Lodge Member Tom Gallegos. The Crab Crack is an annual Elks Lodge tradition that raises money for two $500 scholarships given to local high school students, food baskets (including turkey, bread, milk, stuffing, and all the fixings) distributed to those in need during Christmas, as well as doing what it can to support veterans. The Elks Lodge distributes dictionaries to all third graders in Mineral County, donates money to the Boys & Girls Club, and sponsors the youth Hoop Shoot contest, paying for all the expenses for those who advance into the regionals and beyond.
The Elks Lodge opens its bar in the hour prior to the AYCE crab dinner, providing drinks, shrimp cocktail, and oysters on the half shell for purchase. At 7pm, the crew then brings out the pasta, bread, baked potatoes, and crab. It has 400 pounds of #1 grade Dungeness crab from Alaska to serve throughout the weekend, equaling 2.8 pounds of ready-to-eat crab per person.
“Each person usually eats one-and-a-half pounds of crab; our number one goal is to not run out,” Gallegos says.
A lot of local businesses also donate items to the Crab Crack to be redistributed to the attendees through an auction and raffle drawing. Items given to the Elks Lodge for this event include things like photo prints, knives, a roaster oven, dental accessories, gift certificate to the salon, and 10 full meal coupons to Port of Subs. The 76 gas station and ACE Hardware also donated various items, along with three extra-large pizzas from Lovelock Pizza, handmade blankets, and vehicle items from GCR Tire.
“Everything that’s generated from Hawthorne stays in Hawthorne,” Gallegos says. That along with homemade food, unlimited crab, and more will be sure to make for an unforgettable evening.
“We appreciate the support from the community. Our motto is, ‘Make it a better today so that Elks have a better tomorrow’, and we wouldn’t be able to do that without the community,” Gallegos adds.
Tickets are sold out for this weekend’s event, but it does keep a waiting list. For more information about the Elks Lodge #1704, visit www.elks. org/. The Elks Lodge also holds weekly dinners on Tuesdays and Sunday breakfasts every two weeks.
