The sounds and flavors of 'The Big Easy' come to Jupiter with local celebrity DJ host
A flavor revival that promises to have your taste buds dancing in the aisles and shouting 'hallelujah' via crawfish, gumbo, shrimp étouffée, muffulettas and more, the Seventh Annual Cajun Crawfish & Music Festival is happening Saturday, April 5 and Sunday, April 6 at Abacoa in Jupiter.
This celebration of Louisiana culture via food, music and dance will take place along the streets of Abacoa, down Main Street, into the grassy area all the way to the amphitheater. Food vendors will line the streets and the area will be steeped in Mardi Gras decor and the signature purple, green and gold.
For fans of Cajun cuisine (or people who don't know they are yet), this festival will be packed with all of your favorites. This year's taste of 'N'awlins' is bigger than ever and will feature a crawfish boil by Louisiana John along with crawfish étouffée, jambalaya, Virginia's seafood and meat gumbo, po' boys, fried shrimp and chicken, crab cakes, oysters, red beans and rice, and more.
Virginia Sinicki, co-host of the WRMF's KVJ Show and the event's mistress of ceremonies, said the cuisine is the real deal. Crawfish vendor master boiler Louisiana John "is about as Cajun as you can get… the accent and everything." She said "He's the only boiler we've ever had, we love him."
If you're wondering if the 'Virginia's seafood and meat gumbo' is Sinicki's, good guess. Having lived in New Orleans from the age of five through college at Louisiana State University, she's got her own family recipe.
Of course, Sinicki conceded that when you're in New Orleans and ask a local who has the best gumbo, they'll always lead with their family recipe. "I am no exception to that, most Louisiana people have a gumbo recipe that's been in their family and is a source of pride."
Though the savory components of Cajun cooking absolutely rock, there's also a sweet side with beignets, cider donuts and sno balls. Just to be clear, these sno balls aren't the coconut covered treat that comes wrapped in plastic and was hated by Woody Harrelson's character Tallahassee in "Zombieland." What we're talking about are mounds of fluffy shaved ice topped with sweet, colorful syrups.
Sinicki will be joined at the festival by her cohorts from the KVJ Show. Jason Pennington (the 'J' in KVJ) will be performing with his band The Snack Pack. Though it's not Louisiana music, Sinicki said they do really fun songs with wild topics, including a few about looking for aliens or bigfoot or even cheese. In addition to hilarious songs, they will toss snacks into the crowds including Little Debbie and, yes, Snack Packs. If you're going, pay attention and catch, rather than get hit by, those tiny tasty tubs of pudding.
Other acts that will rock the Louisiana Travel stage with Cajun goodness will be The Brass Revolution, Jorge Fernandez Quartet, VMK & The Snack Pack and The Soul Project NOLA on Saturday and then American-Cajun fiddler and singer Amanda Shaw, the Rockin' Jake Band, and The Porch Dogs on Sunday.
In addition to cooking up gumbo and being mistress of ceremonies at the event, Sinicki said she also helps select the music acts each year. "We like to get musicians that are either from Louisiana or pay homage to Louisiana in their music."
Love crawfish and can't get enough? Maybe you've got what it takes to win Saturday's crawfish eating contest.
Though some purists might insist that a crawfish isn't fully eaten without sucking the head, for this contest it's about the clearing the tail meat. Each contestant gets 10 crawfish and, with judges watching, eats them as quickly as possible before raising their hand. In reality, even if you lose you still win.
This year's event will benefit the charities Little Smiles and the Maddie's Fight Foundation.
"We've been involved with Little Smiles for 25 years," Sinicki said. The group's goal is to create smiles by providing gifts and fun activities to children impacted by serious illness, homelessness, or tragedy. "We'll supply them with gifts, maybe an iPad so they can do their homework or even send them to Disney World. We love to give them something to look forward to."
Maddie's Fight Foundation is named for Maddie Lane who was a "Little Smiles" kid. Though she ultimately lost her battle with cancer, her fight was so inspirational that her family managed to raise a huge nest egg. Now they raise money to give to families going through cancer. Whatever they need, be it their mortgage, rent, power bill, gas card it gets paid.
What: 7th Annual Cajun Crawfish & Music Festival
Where: Abacoa Town Center, 1267 Main St., Jupiter
When: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday, April 5 and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday, April 6
Cost: $5
Information: cajuncrawfishmusicfestival.com
Eddie Ritz is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at eritz@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: The Cajun Crawfish & Music Festival comes to Jupiter April 5, 6
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