Crawfest

Crawfest is an annual, student-run music and crawfish festival hosted on the Uptown campus of Tulane University.

Post-Katrina, there was a desire by student leaders in the Associated Student Body (ASB) to have a campus-wide signature event. Leaders from ASB wanted a crawfish boil while another group of students wanted a music festival. Eventually, the two groups combined to form the Crawfest Committee. This student group plans for the festival for an entire year. The original student leadership team was composed of Chris Ordoyne (TC ’08), Tim Cullen (TC ’09), and Dan Haber (E ’09).

Crawfest 2011. Photo by Sally Asher

Crawfest is usually held on a Saturday in April between French Quarter Fest and Jazz Fest. It has quickly become a favorite event among Tulane students, faculty, and staff. In its first year, Crawfest served 10,000 pounds of crawfish and hosted seven music on two stages. It has steadily grown in popularity and attendance, and in 2013, Crawfest provided 20,000 pounds of crawfish and ten music acts on three stages. For its first four years, it took place on the LBC Quad. Starting in 2011, under the leadership of Becky Sahm (LA ’11), Crawfest expanded to the Newcomb Quad. Past music acts include: Mia Borders, The Revivalists, Kermit Ruffins, Rebirth Brass Band, Trombone Shorty, GIVERS, and Galactic.