The crowd buzzed as people made their way through the festival. Mountains of crawfish stacked upon tables as ravenous guests tore through them. Throughout the festival, the sounds of jazz music filled the air along with aroma of the various spices and seasonings to be found on all the staples of a typical crawfish boil. Guests were greeted with a variety of activities to entertain themselves with, especially watching the Tompkins Jazz Band perform, and upon entrance, the atmosphere of cajun-flavor and music was present to anyone.
“The main goal that we have for the Crawfish Festival is to just bring people together through food and jazz music. It is almost a Mardi Gras-type event in terms of live music and that kind of vibe. It’s really a super fun event that anyone who loves music and crawfish would enjoy,” said senior, Jazz band member Roque Techera.
The Crawfish Festival is an event put on by the Tompkins Jazz Band in an effort to raise money for various costs they are faced with throughout their competition season. It provided them with a fun, interactive way to raise money while still producing a product people can enjoy.
“The Jazz Band performs while festival-goers are allowed to enjoy as much as crawfish and other foods as they may please. All in all, it is a great way for students and parents to see the Jazz Band perform with the added addition of some good crawfish,” said Techera.
The event is sponsored by the Tompkins jazz instructor, Joseph Cherwink, along with the help of several of the Jazz Band members. The ‘Dinner’ ticket was priced at $25 and included the concert, dinner and desert, and the ‘Dessert’ ticket was priced at $15 and included the concert, dessert and bar. The ‘Dinner’ ticket included half a pound of shrimp, two pounds of crawfish, corn, potatoes and sausage.
“As a member of Jazz Band, I really enjoy the Crawfish Festival. I see it as a great way for the Jazz Band and Ensemble to get exposure that we usually don’t get to the main student body. Hopefully, it can draw in more students who find themselves interested in becoming a part of Jazz Band,” said Techera.
The Crawfish Festival took place in the OTHS Main Commons on April 6 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
