They came in droves. Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf. An emergency medical team with a patient needing CPR. Clowns. "Arnold Schwarzenegger." The Tuesday night Dog Costume Contest was memorable, colorful and fun.

400 lbs of shrimp, 300 lbs of crawfish, 100 lbs of crab, 50 lbs of boudan sausage and 50 lbs of Cajun etouffer were eaten at a benefit dinner sponsored by Evangeline Downs Racetrack and Casino, Opelousas, La., for the Children's Cancer Fund of New Mexico. More than $1,067 was raised in donations collected at the dinner for the official charity of the Youth Nationals.

The line never dwindled in the two and half hours it took to feed everyone who came. The food and the all the equipment needed to cook it was brought in from Louisiana as was the Zydeco band that entertained the crowd.