Springtime Brings Service and Seafood

Springtime in New Orleans brings two pleasant gifts to residents: the arrival of warm weather and crawfish season. Students can look forward to both, as the fourth annual Crawfest Music Festival and Crawfish Boil will take place on Saturday (April 17) from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on the Lavin-Bernick Center Quad. This year's festival will serve as the culmination of a week of student-run service events that are part of National Volunteering Week, which will be held at Tulane April 9–17.

National Volunteering Week is an annual nationwide event with citizens across the country involved in local service organizations.

"The students decided to do their events a week early to coincide with Crawfest and to avoid the last week of classes," says Vincent Ilustre, executive director of the Tulane Center for Public Service. "They want to make sure the whole Tulane community is aware of the week and to encourage everyone to make volunteering a part of their everyday lives."

All service events highlight just some of "the students' contributions toward the rebuilding and revitalization of our city," says Ilustre.

Some of the activities include a Colleges Against Cancer letter-writing party on Friday (April 9); a Habitat for Humanity build on Saturday (April 10), beginning at 8 a.m.; a talk by Len Riggio, CEO of Barnes & Noble, in McAlister Auditorium, on Wednesday (April 14), 5:30–7 p.m.; and a CACTUS field day, on the Newcomb Quad, on Friday (April 16), 4–6 p.m.

The conclusion of the week promises to be a delicious reward and celebration of the volunteering efforts, as Crawfest will provide 16,000 pounds of boiled Louisiana crawfish to those in the Tulane community. The seafood will be free with a Tulane ID, as participants bask in the sun and savor the sounds of live music. This year's lineup of music features The Revivalists, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue.

Mary Cross is a senior majoring in communication at Tulane.