NATCHEZ — South Commerce Street will look a little less Mississippi and a little more Maine for one evening in May.

Trinity Episcopal Church’s second annual Claws for a Cause fundraiser — which offers attendees the chance to crack claws on fresh Maine lobster — will be 5 to 9 p.m. May 15, the feast of Pentecost.

Beyond the food offerings, the fundraiser will have music and children’s activities.

“This is a fundraiser we started last year that purely goes to support outreach efforts of Trinity Episcopal Church,” Trinity pastor the Rev. Walton Jones said. “The idea was to do a fun community fundraiser that would pull our congregation together working on a project for outreach as well as the whole community.”

For the event, the church will shut down the street and set up a stage for live music and a children’s play area with inflatable toys and games.

The food for which the event is named will be fresh — the church has a contract with a Maine lobster source that will fly the live lobster into Baton Rouge the day before the fundraiser.

For those who don’t care for lobster but would still like to attend, barbecue plates will be available, as well as hamburger and hotdog plates for children.

“It was just a fantastic event last year that made almost $20,000, all of which we gave away, and we are hoping to do it even bigger this year,” Jones said.

This year’s intended recipients, among which the proceeds will be evenly split, include the Stewpot — which provides hot meals free of charge, no questions asked to those who need them — and the special sessions at the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi’s Camp Bratton-Green.

“The special sessions are for folks with mental and physical disabilities,” Walton said. “It is a wonderful camp that has been going on for more than 50 years, and it provides not only experiences for campers who go and have a wonderful time, but gives a fantastic serving experience for those young adults and teens who want to go as counselors.”

Jones said he borrowed the idea of a lobster dinner from his time serving at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Hunstville, Ala., where parishioners had a similar annual program.

“Lobster is not typically something that you have very often, and when folks get the opportunity to have lobster, you might feel a little guilty because it is one of the more expensive things on the menu,” he said. “But you can splurge a little bit on a $40 meal when you know the proceeds are going to feed the hungry.”

Musical acts will include an opening acoustic set by Bigfoot Country, followed by a Gospel choir directed by Alvin Shelby. Closing out the evening will be the Funky Friars.

Tickets for the lobster dinners will be $40, while those who want barbecue can get tickets for $20.

A lobster plate will include 1.5 pounds of boiled lobster with potatoes, corn on the cob and drawn butter. Barbecue plates will include half a smoked chicken, baked beans and cole slaw.

Tea, water and lemonade will be available free on site, but beer and wine will be sold for those who want it.

A child’s ticket buys a choice of hamburger or hot dog with a side of potato chips. In addition to free tea, water and lemonade, snow cones will be for sale during the event.

Tickets can be purchased online at trinitynatchez.org/lobster.

They can also be purchased by phone by calling the church office at 601-445-8432.

“We would love to have the entirety of the population of the Miss-Lou join us if they can,” Jones said.

“If they are unsure if they want to come or not, they need only ask someone who came last year how much fun it was and what a joyful and wonderful event it was — it is a pure event where the food is delicious and the music is good, and it does nothing but help those in need.”