The Pensacola Crawfish Festival

[iceangel]

http://www.pensacolanewsjournal.com/new ... 299F.shtml

Crawfish, creole mix it up at festival
Event helps fund Fiesta of Five Flags


May 9, 2005
Sean Smith@PensacolaNewsJournal.com

It seemed like everyone had fun Sunday except for the crawfish.



Chuck Dempsey dances to the music of the Bayou Boys with Julie Hawkins, 5, during the 21st annual Pensacola Crawfish Creole Fiesta Sunday afternoon.
Photos by John Blackie@PensacolaNewsJournal.com

Survivors from some 16,000 pounds of the red, armored crustaceans took a final spicy steam bath Sunday at the 21st annual Pensacola Crawfish Creole Fiesta.

For three days, bright sun, cool breezes and the fiddlin', spooning Cajun music greeted thousands at Bartram Park. Organizers believe the festival broke previous attendance records but won't have final figures until today.

Pensacola's festival sold more crawfish than the Breaux Bridge crawfish festival in Louisiana, which also was this weekend, said Mike Hefner, of Mudbug Mike's in Lafayette, La. The Breaux Bridge festival is credited as being the original crawfish festival.

Grace Snowden did her part for the sixth year in a row, painstakingly picking apart about 10 pounds of steamed crawfish.

"It's my favorite festival, but I normally eat more than this," she said, pointing to two trays of dismembered crawfish with her red-stained hands. "The crawfish were mild this year. They're usually hot, hot, hot."



Mathew Forman, 3, plays his guitar Sunday with the Bayou Boys band during the 21st annual Pensacola Crawfish Creole Fiesta.

The festival helps fund activities for Fiesta of Five Flags, which took a hit last year when the Seafood Festival was canceled after Hurricane Ivan. Festival organizers praised the City of Pensacola for re-sodding the park, repairing sidewalks and removing trees deemed unsafe after the storm.

"I don't think it could have been better," said Dave Jacobi, president of Fiesta of Five Flags. "We needed to have good numbers because of what happened last year."

Chris Carroll and fiancee Danielle Henry said they enjoyed the ritual of sucking the heads of the crawfish.

Do they know what's inside?

"Seasoning and spices?" Henry asked. "Oh, I don't care. They taste good."

The festival didn't end so badly for all the crawfish.

A lucky few that had been commandeered by children for the crawfish races made a break for the bay.

"I heard their moms tell them they couldn't take the crawfish home -- to let them go," Hefner said. "They're probably still swimmin'."
May 9, 2005

[CajunMama]

Hope you enjoyed the Mudbug Mike's crawfish...he had some great banners to advertise his booth! (I made them ) Mike was in my shop last Thursday and said he really enjoys going to Pensacola for this festival.