Curious things can happen when a church with a largely Vietnamese congregation has a pastor with a penchant for Louisiana cooking.
Such is the case at Our Lady of LaVang Parish (800 S. Tucson Blvd.), where the second annual Crawfish Festival takes place this weekend. The event features traditional Vietnamese food prepared by church members and loads of bayou-style crawfish, which parish president Anton Tran admits is somewhat of an odd pairing.
“My pastor knows how to cook that stuff,” Tran said. “They may eat some kind of crawfish in Vietnam, but not like this.”
Tran was busy this morning getting the ton of crawfish he had flown in for the event ready. It will sell for about $5 a pound at the festival, which also features Vietnamese sandwiches, noodle plates, barbecued pork, egg rolls and desserts. Entertainment will include karaoke and bingo.
The festival takes place from 1 to 11 p.m., Saturday, April 24; and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Sunday, April 25. Admission is free. Call 940-6749 for more information.
This article appears in Apr 22-28, 2010.
I live across the street from the Church and I think the festival is a great idea but it’s TOO LOUD! I am counting down the minutes until it ends! Maybe a little less volume for the karaoke next year please.