History
In the fall of 2002, a group of twenty-something coworkers at a large local manufacturer each received a certificate for a free turkey to recognize the factory’s success. The gift was presumably intended to be used for Thanksgiving, but these youngsters left the turkey making to their moms, and later in the spring of 2003 found themselves holding gift certificates that were to expire in mid May. The weather was getting nicer so the group formed a plan. One of the youngsters had a Turkey fryer that they had borrowed from (and forgotten to return to) their parents, and there were several parks in the area with shelters and picnic tables. With all these pieces in place, the choice was obvious… they would have a spring turkey-fry. The only question was… what to call it, and how do we explain why we’re having it. While casually discussing this one evening in a room filled with advertisements encouraging everyone to drink on the following Wednesday’s “Cinco De Mayo,” the even had found its name. Since the following Saturday fell on the 8th of May, The event would be called the “Ocho De Mayo” turkey fry (Ocho de Mayo = 8th of May). The vast majority of non-Hispanic Americans who would be celebrating Cinco de Mayo that year had no idea what Cinco De Mayo was, nor did they care… but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a reason to have a party. So, if most people didn’t realize why Cinco De Mayo was a cause for celebration, why not start our own, for all intents and purposes, arbitrarily chosen day designated for having a good time with friends. Ocho de Mayo. After the success of the first year of the “de Mayo”celebration there was no choice but to celebrate again on a Saturday around the 5th of May, the second Saturday happened to be the 7th of May (Siete de Mayo”). One of the founding members of the celebration had spent time in Texarkana and was exposed to fresh boiled crawfish.
Having a taste for adventure and the exotic the group decided to add crawfish to the celebration, which has grown to be the central theme of the celebration. The celebration has continued every year since during the Saturday surrounding the 5th of May. The “de Mayo”celebration has grown into a full-fledged annual event. Last year, it attracted more than 200 people in spite of unusually cold and windy weather. This year’s event, the Dos de Mayo Crawfish Boil, to be held on the second of May, will follow a similar format as event in the past. Guests are invited to bring family, friends, and pets to come to Veterans Memorial Park to enjoy the long-awaited spring weather, various yard games, sand volleyball, live music provided by a local band, and some great food, including fresh Louisiana crawfish.
In past years, many guests have insisted on giving us money. Last year to help offset our expenses, we passed a hat and promised to give any proceeds to The American Red Cross. In spite of not formally organizing this effort, we were able to write a check for $1000 to the Red Cross following the event. This year, we have decided to grow the charitable dimension of this event and give money to a locally based organization. In our search for an appropriate organization with which to partner our primary objective was finding a group which exemplified the culture and community of the Quad Cities and surrounding areas. We have worked with Living Lands & Waters and have made them our beneficiary for 2009. We feel that Living Lands & Waters is the perfect fit and plan to donate 100% of the proceeds to your organization.
