Crawfish Festival, NJ 2008
This was my first time at Crawfish Festival. I had met a bunch of people off the JazzFest website (yes, another chat group -- this one Jazz Fest lovers). They (we) are called Threadheads. Some of the greatest people I've met. Just like TBers, they are all about helping each other out, discussing great jazz festivals, best beer, food, anything and everything. Here is a write up from a local paper about the Crawfish Festival. Next year is the 20th anniversary. If you are ANYWHERE near Jersey, I suggest you go. A great time, not crazy crowded like Jazz Fest and camping is very convenient to the stages.
Crawfish Festival draws more than 1,000
Sunday, June 1, 2008
By STEPHEN J. NOVAK
snovak@njherald.
Regulars to the annual Crawfish Festival, "Plentyville," actually began the tradition of self-naming some of the larger groups' campsites — and they knew to be prepared for whatever the weather brought.
In the corner of one of three designated camping areas at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Frankford, "Plentyville" boasted 23 campers, a portable fire pit and canopies covering a cooking area and a makeshift dining area. In the event of rain, which came in buckets Saturday night, they brought a plastic covering to keep everyone inside the food tent dry.
"We become pretty damn popular when it rains," said Anita Brutnell, of Independence, laughing. The group already was popular, as many of the regular festival campers have come to know each other throughout the years.
About 800 campers arrived Friday to kick off the festivities for the event's 19th year with crawfish and live music, and more people arrived to spend the day. "It'll affect the day people, but the campers will be here," sad Stu Stauber, a Long Island native, remembering a few rainy festivals in recent years. "You make the best of it. You have a great time."
Stauber and his family are members of the Threadheads, a Web-based group that supports the New Orleans Jazz Festival and regularly attends the Crawfish Festival. Named for the numerous topic threads posted in the chatroom, the group has members from across the country and is one of the reasons camping at the festival has grown the last few years. Spending the night at the three-day festival began in earnest when the festival moved to the fairgrounds in 2002, after having previously been held at Waterloo Village in Byram.
"I thought it would take 20 years to grow into this space," said Michael Arnone, the Crawfish Festival's founder. The number of campers Friday night doubled from last year, and one of the three camping areas sold out a month in advance.
To accommodate those who arrive for the first night of the festival, Arnone has begun offering a growing musical lineup for special campers-only shows. This year featured six hours of music, an all-time high for the festival's Friday nights.
When Arnone started the festival in 1989, he was a union electrician working in New Jersey. His job had brought him from the Baton Rouge, La., area where he grew up, so he held a crawfish party for 70 people to get a taste of home. Now, planning the festival is basically his full-time job.
The intent each year is to outdo the last.
Plans are already in the works for next year — the festival's 20th. Arnone said he is working to book "a huge act" for the Friday night campers, though he was mum on the details.
"We're going to go big," he said.
Festival organizers also pay attention to the small details when it comes to their loyal campers. Some staff go around to the camp sites and provide mints for the pillows.
Paul Nathan, another Threadhead, who was camping with Stauber and his family, had gotten one of the mints.
"This mint represents the whole vibe of the festival," Nathan said.
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