We’ve all seen them, with their bibs and crackers and tiny forks and ramekins of melted butter.

They’re out there, lurking, eyeing the calendar, waiting for the start of “crab feed season.”

For some, a crab feed is more than the just a dinner, it’s practically a way of life. Folks show up with serious tools that make it easier for them to enjoy that hard-to-get-at fruit of the sea. In fact, many come armed not only with their own specialized utensils, but a strategic plan of attack.

“My husband is a crab slut,” joked Patty Guerra, a Turlock resident. “I don’t even like crab. My job is to crack shells all night and pass the meat to the left. So even though I don’t eat crab, we still get our money’s worth.”

Tickets tend to be on the expensive side, but the event almost always serves as a fundraiser for a specific cause or organization.

Here’s a list of some crab feeds coming up around the region:

— The Hilmar-Irwin-Stevinson Lions Club will host its 29th annual crab feed starting at 6 p.m. Jan. 20 at the Hilmar Grange Hall. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased at: https://www.facebook.com/hilmarirwinstevinsonlions/

— The annual CSUS Warrior Crab Feed, featuring Dungeness crab, pasta, salad and bread, will be held  Jan. 27 at Fitzpatrick Arena. There will also be music, and live and silent auctions. Social hour begins at 5:30 p.m. and dinner is served an hour later. The “starter” table for 10 is $850 and the “All-Conference” table for 10, which includes a glass of wine for each guest and table sponsorship, is $1,200. For more information, call 209-667-3016 or visit warriorathletics.com/crabfeed. All proceeds benefit the Warrior Athletics Scholarship Fund.

— The CAF/Central California Valley Squadron crab feed will be held Jan. 27 at Hangar 1-S, 700 Tioga Drive, Modesto. Doors open at 5 p.m. and tickets are $75. Dinner includes appetizers, pasta with meat sauce, salad, garlic bread, and, of course, crab. Dessert also is included. To purchase tickets, call 209-605-4313. Limited seating available. This one sells out fast.

— The Turlock Pentecost Association will hold its annual cioppino dinner on Feb. 3 from 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Turlock Ballroom, 528 N. Golden State Blvd. Dancing will be from 7 to midnight. Seating is limited and no takeout orders are available. Tickets are $70.  For information, contact Alvaro and Anabela Cabral at 209-342-8104 or Jeff and Liz Mendonca at 209-495-8116. Tickets are limited for this feed so if cold, marinated crab is your thing, you’d better hurry.

— Modesto City Fire Fighters Association Local 1289 will hold its annual crab feed from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Feb. 10 at the Stanislaus Veterans Center, 3500 Coffee Rd., Modesto. Tickets are $75 each. This event will benefit MCFFA's Widows and Orphans fund as well as its scholarship charities. A cocktail social will start out the evening from 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. The installment of Local 1289’s newly elected officers and executive board members will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Dinner will be served at 6 p.m. A live auction will be held from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and then dancing until 10 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at: https://bit.ly/4aJ08N6

— The Denair Lions youth football club will host a crab and shrimp feed starting at 5:30 p.m. March 16 at Larsa Banquet Hall, 2107 E. Monte Vista Ave., Denair. This dinner will feature crab, shrimp, pasta, salad and bread. There will be to-go orders available and a dessert auction following dinner. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased at Papa V Oasis Deli, Backroads Home & Gift, Rutherford Laser Co., and by calling 209-404-7243.

— The inaugural Stanislaus Area Crime Stoppers Crab Feed will be held March 16 at Rev. O’Hare Hall at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 1813 Oakdale Road, Modesto. Crab dinner, no-host bar, live and silent auctions. Tickets are $75 for individuals and $800 for a table of eight. Contact DaShaun Winston at 510-714-3906 or email dashaunwinston@gmail.com.

— Kristina Hacker contributed to this report.