Crawfish. Crayfish. Crawdad. Mudbug. Rock lobster.
Whatever you call them, they'll be in plentiful supply at the CARTI Ragin' Cajun Bash, 6 p.m. today at War Memorial Stadium.
CARTI Ragin’ Cajun Bash
6-9 p.m. today, War Memorial Stadium, West Markham Street and Fair Park Boulevard, Little Rock
Tickets: $45
(501) 296-3406
"Ragin' Cajun Bash is central Arkansas's biggest crawfish boil," says CARTI Special Events Coordinator Sabrina Thompson. "Now, that's, of course, unverified, but I really believe that it is."
Last year, the guests and the army of volunteers for the massive feast topped 2,000 people, all peeling and eating the Southern delicacy.
Those who aren't exactly fans of the little critters will still find plenty to fill their stomachs. It's a full Cajun meal including red beans and rice, jambalaya, dirty rice, corn, potatoes, hush puppies and Popeye's fried chicken. Popeye's Mardi Gras cheesecake will be the sweet topper. Flyway, Frio and Frio 6.0 will supply the beer.
And as important as the food is, that's not all guests will find at the party. There will be dancing and music courtesy of Rodney Block & The Real Music Lovers. This year's online auction includes four trips to Costa Rica.
New this year is the Kendra Scott jewelry pull. For a $60 donation, guests are guaranteed to win an authentic piece of Kendra Scott jewelry.
Tickets for the raffle are $5 each, $20 for five and $35 for 10. But in addition to the usual goody baskets of donated items, there's a big surprise: a crawfish eating table, made specially for the bash.
"We have some gracious volunteers who have agreed to demonstrate how it works," Thompson says. "We're calling it the Cajun Experience."
The winner will receive the table and entry to a reserve table at the 2019 bash. And if the table raffle is a big hit, Thompson says, "We hope to offer this experience in 2019 as part of the event. That will be the premium experience next year."
The Ragin' Cajun Bash is CARTI's biggest one-day fundraiser of the year and, since it started in 2005, it has raised more than $1.1 million for CARTI patient programs.
Those programs include fuel vouchers for low-income patients, nutritional supplements and massage therapy programs.
"It's a wonderful party for a fantastic cause," Thompson says. "And it really has a direct impact on our patients."
Thompson stresses that the bash is open to all ages and is family friendly: "We'll welcome everybody who wants to have a Cajun experience with us.
"It's such a joy to see people enjoying themselves and doing something important for our community and for CARTI."
Weekend on 04/19/2018