For a couple of hours this past Saturday night, January 21, folks in Sierra City might have thought they were enjoying a festive occasion somewhere in a state bordering the Gulf of Mexico. Over 70 people packed the Sierra Community Hall for a Southern Low Country Boil featuring succulent shrimp, corn, potatoes, delicious corn chowder, and dessert. Guests brought their favorite libations and lined up to fill their plates with steaming goodness while catching up with friends and neighbors. Kudos to the organizers of the event, Glen & Cindy Haubl and Rebecca Mooers for a successful and cheery evening, even piping in cajun zydeco music for the added ambiance.

With the price of crab hovering at a ridiculous $54 per pound, the Sierra City Fire Department, unfortunately, had to forgo the annual crab feed. Instead of charging $75 a head as they are doing in Calpine and Grass Valley this year for their Crab Feeds, the organizers thought it was better to bring a more affordable option for guests this year rather than cancel the annual event. At $25 per person, the event was an obvious success with the proceeds benefiting the Sierra City Improvement Group.

The Sierra City Improvement Group is a registered nonprofit organization founded in 2019 by Jim Westfall, Steve Traverso, and Margaret McDermott to run the Annual Car Show in Sierra City. According to Westfall, the organization's mission has evolved to provide more public benefit to the Sierra City community. Beyond the annual car show, they also put on an Oktoberfest event in the Fall. Their efforts provided $2,500 to the Sierra City Fire Department in the past year, as well as funds towards the Sierra City Firewise program providing reflective stickers for residents’ homes to aid firefighters in the case of a fire emergency.