Forget your worries and laissez les bon temps rouler! The Cajun-French phrase meaning “let the good times roll” is befitting for the upcoming Cajun Crawfish & Music Festival, which is always a good time. Currently in its seventh year, the event celebrates the vibrant culture with Louisiana cooking, live music, and more. This year’s festival comes to Abacoa Town Center April 5-6, bringing a little bit of the Big Easy to South Florida. We chatted with event coordinator (and New Orleans native) Virginia Sinicki of the The KVJ Show on WRMF radio to get the inside scoop.
Being from New Orleans, how would you describe Louisianians?
Louisiana people love to share their culture—the stories, food, and cocktails—and they’re very animated and hospitable. They never met a stranger and love sharing their vibe with new people, and you feel that at the festival.
What can people expect to see?
The festival is a lot like going to the French Market in New Orleans, with clothes, jewelry, pottery, hot sauces, authentic Louisiana memorabilia, and lots of artwork. This year, for the first time, I’m going to implement an art mural, where kids can come out and paint a giant crawfish. We’re going to raffle it off and donate all the proceeds to our two favorite
charities, Maddie’s Fight Foundation and Little Smiles.
What’s your go-to festival food and drink?
For food, it’s got to be the hot-oiled Louisiana crawfish. It’s fun to give people a tutorial on how to peel them. In Louisiana, we suck the head to get to all the spices and juices in there—it’s just the most delectable little sip. Sometimes we put some vodka in there and make a spicy little shooter. My favorite drink at the festival is the Champagne Hurricane, which is a very strong rum punch mixed with Champagne or prosecco. We also have authentic jambalaya, crawfish étouffée, gumbo, café au lait, beignets, po’ boys, and raw oysters.
What are you most looking forward to this year?
I love seeing people learn how to second- line. It’s a line of people that dance behind a big brass band, kind of like a conga line that weaves through the crowd. I’m also excited that [New Orleans funk/soul band] Flow Tribe will be playing.
Admission is $5.
Facebook Comments