Crawfish, not corned beef, will be the attraction Saturday at the second Spring Block Party hosted by Big Tex Decatur.

Bill Schoonmaker, vice president of operations, said the restaurant’s event goes against the green grain. “We won’t have any green beer. We’re not going to have any green T-shirts. It’s kind of the anti-St. Patty’s Day party,” he said.

Schoonmaker predicted next week will be the perfect time to host the outdoor event.

“After everybody has been in hibernation for the winter, they’ll be able to come out and have a great time outside,” he said.

Chef Rick Watson said there will be an outdoor crawfish boil.

“We’re doing some crawfish with some corn and some andouille sausage” he said. “We’ll feature some of our favorite items on a limited menu.”

Watson said those items benefit from his culinary partnership with Fox Bros. Bar-B-Q.

“We’re hitting our stride here and nailing down a concept of South by Southwest, where we take a lot of your classic Texas flavors and fuse them with Southern comfort food,” he said.

Families will be comfortable at the event, said General Manager Robin Vaughan.

“The early part of it is family friendly,” he said about last year. “There were a lot of kids here. All playing and dancing and trying crawfish for the first time.”

While there is a charge for crawfish, playing and dancing are on the house.

“Traditionally every other restaurant’s St. Patty’s Day party has cover charges. We want all the fun to be for free,” Schoonmaker said.

That includes entertainment by a lineup of local, “Georgia-bred” bands, he said.

“One of our partners and our sister stores is Smith’s Olde Bar, who’s been booking bands for a very, very long time,” Schoonmaker said.

Vaughan said there will be “dancing in the streets,” or, at least, up and down a side street.

“One thing about the block party aspect, there’s things happening in different places,” he said. “A lot of people are doing ‘crawls.’ They get a beer down the street, come back to listen to some music here and then go down to the Square for something after.” Watson said the event will help establish their corner as a destination, just like the Square.

“We want to draw attention to other areas of downtown Decatur,” he said. “There are a lot of other businesses to see and enjoy.”

If you go

 What: Spring Block Party

 When: Saturday, beginning at 11 a.m.

Where: Big Tex Decatur, 308 W. Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur

 Cost: free admission, food and beverage extra

 Information: (404) 377-3939 or visit www.bigtexdecatur.com