Deep Into Crawfish With the Rotarians

It's been a busy week for Tammy Broussard, who flew to New Orleans on Wednesday, traveled to Abbeville Wednesday night, drove back the next morning with "crawfish, tamales, roux, sausage and other Cajun goodies" and then headed back to FishHawk on Friday, in time for Saturday's Crawfish Festival at FishHawk, now in its third year.

There, her husband, Michael Broussard, tended to his duties as Rotarian head chef at the annual fundraiser for the FishHawk Riverview Rotary Club.

"It's more fun than it is taxing," said Tammy Broussard, at the May 18 fundraiser in Park Square at FishHawk Ranch. "And everybody who is involved wants to do it, to bring money back to the community."

• See Photo Views From Crawfish Festival at Park Square at FishHawk Ranch

Michael Broussard remembers how the event got started, over a beer with the club's then-president Elijah Heath.

"He said, 'I'm president of the Rotary club, you ought to consider joining,' " Michael Broussard recalled.

Then the men talked about "how are we going to raise money, we need to do something awesome," Broussard added, and Heath said, 'I think a crawfish festival would be great.' "

From there it has become what it is today, a much-anticipated annual event that draws a crowd of some 1,000 vendors, volunteers and attendees.

"This year was great, we did just about the right amount of crawfish," Michael Broussard said, as the event drew to a close May 18. "We added crawfish and shrimp tamales, as a tip to the Tampa community's Cuban, Mexican influences."

Apparently, the menu addition was well-received.

"We had 60 dozen [tamales] total and we're down to our last two dozen," Michael Broussard said.

Busy with her parents was Paris Broussard, 14, who said cooking is a big thing in her family at home. She's been working with them at the crawfish festival since its inception.

"It's stressful, but it's a lot of fun," Paris Broussard said.

What does she like most about it?

"Everything," Paris Broussard said. "I think the best part is enjoying the Cajun taste that makes you go back home, to the country."

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