For the past 20 years, Columbians have celebrated New Orleans culture at the Rosewood Crawfish Festival. Attendees have the opportunity to enjoy fresh crawfish, live music, art vendors and family activities at the event every May.
Festival organizer David Britt has been a part of the event since it started in 2006. Britt also serves as the chair of the Saint Patrick’s Day festival in Five Points and teaches event management at USC.
“Our main claim to fame is bringing thousands of pounds of Louisiana crawfish straight from the source,” Britt said.
Britt said some people might not know that there is a huge difference between crawfish from South Carolina and Louisiana. For example, crawfish grown in South Carolina tend to be a lot smaller and less flavorful.
“So if you’ve never tried crawfish or have been curious, this is the best that you can get in the world,” Britt said. “I’m not just saying that. It really is the best — the ones grown in Louisiana. You just can’t beat them.”
Britt says the festival is a hub for people who have moved from Louisiana and miss the culture and cooking from back home, since this is the only time of the year crawfish is available.
The festival’s crawfish is provided by Cody Guillory, theowner of Cody’s Crawfish Shop in South Louisiana. The restaurant has two brick-and-mortar locations and caters for various festivals across the country. Guillory first catered the festival in 2010.
The crawfish served at the festival will be caught on the Thursday before the event and transported to Columbia by Friday night. It will then be served on Saturday, Guillory said.
In addition to crawfish, Guillory will also be serving the Louisiana staple, boudin. Boudin is a Cajun sausage stuffed with pork, rice, onions and various spices.
“It’s an easy side for somebody who maybe didn’t want crawfish or something just to go along with the crawfish,” Guillory said.
Although some people may be hesitant to try crawfish, Guillory said he encourages everyone to give the dish a try.
“I very seldom see somebody eat a crawfish and say they don’t like it,” Guillory said.
Dano’s Pizza is one of the festival’s biggest sponsors. Dan Scheel, the owner of the restaurant, said he has been involved with the event since it began. The restaurant set up a food booth at the original festival location that took place on Rosewood Drive, the same road the pizzeria is located.
“We would sell slices of pizza to have an alternate source besides crawfish because that really was the biggest draw for people,” Scheel said. “We felt like maybe we would have a nice presence there for people who didn’t necessarily like crawfish or maybe they had kids.”
Scheel said he particularly enjoys the different music groups that perform each year, such as Sister Hazel and Spin Doctors.
“We’ve had so many good artists come through for the crawfish festival every year, and I think that’s a huge part of why it’s been so successful,” Scheel said.
This year, the festival will be headlined by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band. The Grammy-winning band formed in New Orleans in 1977 has toured all over the world. Lead singer and baritone saxophone player Roger Lewis said the band helped to change the history of brass band music by picking up the tempo in the '70s.
“When we started, we picked the beat up and created a dance called bug jumping,“ Lewis said. “People were actually doing all this fancy footwork, and all that came out of Dirty Dozen.”
Lewis said he sees the festival as an opportunity for people to learn more about the history of Louisiana.
“A lot of people don’t know the real history of New Orleans,” Lewis said. "Because of what we have contributed musically and culturally, people really should do their research.”
Lewis said he and the band are excited to come to Columbia. Additionally, he invited the crowd to have fun and enjoy the music.
“You’re guaranteed to lose a couple of pounds once you start dancing to this music,” Lewis said. “We’ve got music for your mind, body and soul.”
In addition to the Dirty Dozen Brass Band, there will be performances from Jammy Buffet, Bring Out Yer Dead, Slim Pickens and Zydeco Party Tunes.
The festival also has a partnership with the Columbia Arts Academy, a music school located on Rosewood Drive. Every year, young music students are featured on the event’s second stage, Britt said.
“It’s a really cool thing to support up-and-coming musicians and give them a platform to perform,” Britt said.
Scheel said the festival has a history of having good weather.
“Bring shades and sunblock,” Scheel said. “Even though it’s only May, you will definitely get some sun out there.”
The Rosewood Crawfish Festival will be held on Saturday, May 2, starting at 11 a.m. at the South Carolina State Fairgrounds. More information can be found on the festival’s website.