Crawfish fest goes 'down home'

BY George Leroy Hunter
AUGUSTA — "Down home" cookin' and the sounds of the south took place at Michael Arnone's 27th Annual Crawfish Festival at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta. From Friday June 3 to Sunday June 5, people got the chance to eat southern influenced cuisine and listen to an eclectic selection of music.
Jambalaya, fried chicken, sweet potato pie and of course fresh crawfish were among many items on the menu.
Carolyn Kostialik of Lake Hopatcong tasted a crawfish for the first time in her life. "It tastes alright," she said. "Kind of spicy and a little hot."
The live music rotation featured groups and solo acts such as the Brass-A-Holics, The Revelers, Johnny Sketch and The Dirty Notes and Samantha Fish, to name a few.
Founder and Louisiana native Michael Arnone organizes the event.
Arnone, who calls Baton Rouge home, first got the idea to put together a crawfish themed event back during the 1980's. At the time Arnone was working as a licensed electrician in New Jersey. Arnone got homesick and wanted to do something that reminded him of where he came from.
"I decided to put together a little party and serve some crawfish and jambalaya," Arnone said. "About 70 people came to that party and 300 pounds of crawfish were served. I decided to throw a party every year afterwards. Over the years the party has grown bigger and bigger."
The Crawfish Fest has definitely increased in size and popularity since that first party.
Despite periodic rain showers on Saturday the second day of the three-day event the crowd was thick on the fairgrounds having a chewin' and groovin' good time.