Ninth Annual Crawfish Festival & Clambake

March 17, 2016

Ninth Annual Crawfish Festival & Clambake

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The ninth annual Crawfish Festival & Clambake will be held Saturday, May 7, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Clinton Square in Syracuse. The event features a variety of food vendors serving crawfish, clams and other southern- Cajun- and northern-style cuisine. In 2015, the festival sold 2,000 pounds of crawfish. The event raised nearly $60,000 to benefit Operation Northern Comfort, a local nonprofit organization.

Operation Northern Comfort is an all-volunteer organization that is committed to serving Central New York by providing labor, donations and support in time of need. The organization has built four full-size homes and assisted in more than 300 other projects in the Gulf Coast area.

Originally founded in 2006 as Operation Southern Comfort, the organization was created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Over a six-year span, 50 trips to New Orleans were organized and more than 2,200 volunteers traveled from Central New York to help rebuild homes damaged by the storm.

In 2012, the organization was renamed Operation Northern Comfort and it began serving the Central New York community. Operation Northern Comfort has built one house, rebuilt another and has completed a number of other jobs, including wheelchair ramp installations, bathroom renovations and house painting. In 2015, the organization began partnering with “A Tiny Home for Good” to build small, affordable homes for individuals who face homelessness, particularly veterans, and to help others in need.

Each year, the Crawfish Festival attracts more than 5,000 attendees who enjoy food, beverages and live music from five local bands throughout the day. The event features a kids’ entertainment area, a cornhole contest and numerous raffles. There will also be a Tiny Home display. New to the Crawfish Festival this year is a mascot dance contest featuring Scooch & Pops from the Syracuse Chiefs, the Geico gecko, Iggy the LeMoyne dolphin, the Operation Northern Comfort crawfish and others. The winner will receive a cash prize for his or her favorite charity.

Vendor booth space and sponsorships are still available for the Crawfish Festival & Clambake. For more information about Operation Northern Comfort, visit www.operationnc.org.

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