It’s crawfish time again!  Porter Leath’s Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival is this weekend and it’s our honor to once again sponsor their Kids Corner.  Rob Hughes, Development Director at Porter Leath and the festival’s organizer, here treats us to a guest post about what to expect in the way of food, fun, music, and more this year:

 

The 24th Annual Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival, benefitting Porter-Leath, returns to Riverside Drive on Sunday, April 17.  The event supports Porter-Leath’s free programs and services that empower over 12,000 local at-risk children and their families to achieve a healthy, optimal and independent lifestyle each year.

Rajun Cajun is the largest one-day crawfish festival in the Mid-South. Over 16,000 pounds of fresh Louisiana crawfish are hauled directly from the bayou to Memphis for the occasion. The fest also features fantastic live Cajun and Zydeco music, this year from Lafayette’s Bayou Boys, the ever-energetic swamp soul band Marcella + Her Lovers, and Memphis’ tightest jam band, Freeworld. Come be part of the entertainment by signing up for the contests that have become traditions: the live crawfish bob, the crawfish eating contest, crawfish races, or even the gumbo-cook off. This year, twenty-four teams will make some groceries and compete in the Cash Saver Gumbo Cook-Off to see whose batch is good enough to claim this year’s skillet trophy and prize money.

As always, Rajun Cajun will have something for everyone. For families bringing children, there will be a wide variety of age-appropriate games at the Kid’s Corner on Riverside Drive. And if you’re not partial to the official state crustacean of Louisiana, there will be plenty of food vendors offering everything from BBQ, to hot wings, to traditional carnival fare.

Admission to the fest is free, but those seeking the true, complete Cajun experience can purchase tickets in advance for the Swamp VIP Tent featuring unlimited crawfish and drinks. Additionally, to get a prime view of the main stage, Bayou Boys Bash tables are available and provide 24 beer tickets per party of eight. Lastly, for those who can’t stay and enjoy the festival, or who just want a quick bucket of mudbugs to go, a crawfish to go area will be set up at the corner of Riverside and Union.

For more information about the 24th Annual Rajun Cajun Crawfish Festival, visit http://www.rajuncajunmemphis.org.

 

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In exciting news, and a reflection of the agency’s commitment to top-quality programming, Porter-Leath broke ground on March 16th to build its Early Childhood Academy in the South Memphis community. This state-of-the-art preschool and teacher training institute will open in early Spring 2017.  Congratulations to our friends at Porter Leath on this wonderful new project!