By LINDA CHION KENNEY
linda@observernews.net
Vendors, volunteers, sponsors and advance food orders are “highly encouraged” for the 16th annual Crawfish Festival in Riverview, with proceeds benefiting local and global community charities supported by the FishHawk-Riverview Rotary Club.
That’s the word from Rotarian Michael Broussard, a seasoned chef, whose prior restaurant career made use of the skills he honed as a child learning to cook in his family’s kitchen. Also, important to note, “I worked at a family restaurant in Louisiana, and I loved the way the owner cooked his crawfish,” Broussard said. “He steamed the crawfish instead of boiling them, which locks in the juices, and that’s the way we cook them at the festival.”
Linda Chion Kenney photo
Sixth-grader Jacob Faulkner, dressed in a crawfish costume, attends the FishHawk-Riverview Rotary Club meeting March 16, where the 16th Annual Crawfish Festival was discussed.
Set again for its presentation in the neotraditional Winthrop community, the festival is scheduled for Saturday, April 25, rain or shine, off the southeast corner of Bloomingdale Avenue and Providence Road. Boxes of fresh crawfish, scheduled to arrive 4 a.m. from Abbeville, La., presents a win-win for crawfish lovers, and for the Rotarian mission to support charities and nonprofits aligned with its mission. Rain or shine, the five-hour event kicks off at 11, with free admission, live music, family friendly activities and vendor booths (additional food options, crafts and more).
The festival is one of two annual signature events for the club, which presents in December the Alafia Lighted Boat Parade, at the Riverview Park and Civic Center, at 11020 Park Drive. It’s the festival, however, that raises significant funds for distribution through the FishHawk-Riverview Rotary Club Foundation, which through the festival raised roughly $75,000 over the past two years alone. This year’s event is expected to raise another $40,000, which makes good on the pact Broussard made with Rotarian Elijah Heath more than 16 years ago.
“Elijah Heath, who encouraged me to join Rotary, wanted to come up with a fundraiser for the club and this is what we decided to do,” Broussard said. “Elijah, who knew I was from Louisiana, said, ‘What do you think about a crawfish festival?’ From there, it took on a life of its own.”
Witnessing the growth of the festival over the years is Rotarian Joe Nichols, the club’s president, who joined the club five years after he went to his first festival eight years ago. “I lived in New Orleans and I can tell you, the food is no better there than here at the festival,” Nichols said. “The crawfish is authentic, I love the music, the camaraderie is great, and there’s a variety of different vendors and things you can buy and participate in, including a terrific kid’s zone with animals to pet, games, face-painting and a bounce house.”
The festival’s main sponsor, again, is Chris Ligori and Associates, injury attorneys. Sought now are additional sponsors, vendors and volunteers, as well as advance orders for crawfish and other dining options, all of which is noted online at www.luvcrawfish.com/. The Crawfish Family Pack, for example, includes two Cajun style crawfish dinners with corn and potato, plus $30 in Crawfish Cash for more food and beverage options. The cost for a single crawfish meal (approximately 2
Joe Nichols photo
The main draw at the crawfish festival held annually by the FishHawk-Riverview Rotary Club
pounds) is $25, including corn on the cob and red potatoes. The a la carte menu includes Broussard’s Dirty Rice, pulled pork sandwich, chicken and sausage gumbo, Crawfish Etouffee, Don’s Smoked Fish Spread with Crackers, red beans and rice, funnel cakes, hamburgers and more. Drink offerings include bottled water, craft beer and cider, Hurricanes, Sangria and more.
For sure, the major draw for near and far visitors is the crawfish. “The number of people who look forward to the Crawfish Festival every year is amazing,” said Rotarian Christopher Jones, who has chaired the festival for years. “We hear from people throughout the year asking when the festival is going to be, and we’ve had people from Miami and out of state come to the festival.”
In the end, “it’s all about the timing,” said Jones, a self-proclaimed “seafood guy” from Maryland, who since his Rotarian days has added crawfish to his love for crabs and shrimp. “There’s a lot of seafood festivals and rib festivals, but not a lot of crawfish festivals. The fact that we have someone who was raised in the area, who can arrange to get fresh crawfish from the bayou, which literally shows up the morning of the festival at 4 a.m., that’s the draw.”
Moreover, Jones said, 100 percent of the money raised supports local and global initiatives aligned with the Rotary Club’s mission. Requests for donations come exclusively through active members and are awarded based on alignment with Rotary’s mission to alleviate poverty, illiteracy, hunger and disease.
According to club members, the majority of funds raised are awarded locally, and last year that benefited The Three B’s Ministry, MacDonald Training Center, West Florida Foster Care Services, Gibsonton Elementary School Food Pantry, Florida Society of Clinical Oncology, Feeding Tampa Bay, Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, Tampa Westchase Rotary U.S. Hunger Food
Joe Nichols photo
Joe Nichols, president of the FishHawk-Riverview Rotary Club, with attorney Chris Ligori, presenting sponsor for the annual crawfish festival
Packing Program and Hillsborough County Public Schools Migrant Education Program. Global recipients included the Chispa Project in Honduras, and Honduras Compassionate Partners, and the El Ayudante Honduras Learning Center. Also, in Kenya, the Weiss Scholarship Foundation.
The club supports also Rotary’s Camp Florida, college scholarships for graduating seniors, the Newsome High School Interact Club, Rotary International’s Polio Plus (End Polio Now) initiative and delegate sponsorships to attend Rotary’s Seminar for Tomorrow’s Leaders (S4TL).
For more on club membership and activities, visit www.FishHawkRiverviewRotary.org/. For festival orders, information and volunteer and sponsorship opportunities, visit www.luvcrawfish.com/.