FishHawk Riverview Rotarians Don Crawfish Hats for MadHatter's Tea Plug

Gearing up for their annual Crawfish Festival at FishHawk, the FishHawk Riverview Rotarians sported crawfish hats at their Feb. 11 meeting at Beef 'O' Brady's on Bell Shoals Road in Valrico.

The group announced that anyone planning to attend the sixth annual MadHatter Tea Party, scheduled for Feb. 24, 2013, at the Cross Creek Ranch in Dover, should wear the hats in support of the upcominc crawfish festival.

Quote of the week came from Rotarian Mike Meegan, who was eating a plate of shrimp. Quipped Meegan: "Is it bad form to be eating shrimp while wearing a crawfish hat?"

For Greater Brandon residents, both events are fun ways to support Rotarian causes.

The MadHatter Tea Party is a major annual fundraiser for the Rotary Club of Brandon South, which meets Wednesdays at the Buckhorn Springs Golf and Country Club, the oldest such club in the Brandon/Valrico area.

At the tea party, at the Cross Creek Ranch in Dover, guests showcase their hand-decorated hats at the Tea Hat parade, open to "ladies, families, dads and daughters, and all other combinations." Food and tea from local eateries are plentiful.

A $500 sponsorship buys a table sign, hat to decorate for the MadHatter Pareade and eight seats. A $250 sponsorship buys a smal table sign, eight seats and a hat to decorate at as well.

Individual tickets cost $25 per person.

• For inforamtion, visit the MadHatter Tea Party online at the Brandon South Rotary Club Web site.

• See Rotary's Award-Winning MadHatter's Tea Party Hat a Family Affair 

For information about the upcoming crawfish festival, visit the FishHawk Riverview Rotary Club online. Information for this year's event will soon be posted.

The second annual Crawfish Festival at FishHawk Ranch was held May 12, featuring fresh crawfish cooked by Rotarian Mike Broussard, who won the FishHawk Chili Cookoff this year and last.

"I used to own a restaurant and now I just cook for fun," Broussard said. "My wife is from Albuquerque and I'm from Louisiana, so we have a spicy thing going on on our relationship, so to speak." Broussard's secret chili ingredient: chili powder from Hatch, New Mexico, known as, "the chile capital of the world."

• See Cookoff Attracts Hundreds of Chili Lovers to Park Square

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