The 50th annual Louisiana Crawfish Festival returns for 2025 in Chalmette, LA for 4 days of good food and fun starting on Thursday, March 20th -Sunday, March 23rd. Come on out to the Parish to enjoy some delicious crawfish and crawfish inspired dishes plus rides, games and live music with performances by Chapel Hart, Harvey Jesus and Fire, Laine Hardy, The Chee-Weez, and more. The festival was first established in 1975, when the Knights of Columbus Rummel Council 5747 saw a need in the St. Bernard Community. Debating on how to raise funds, a member of the council suggested that they host a festival, and the rest is history. In 2005, when Hurricane Katrina devastated St. Bernard Parish, the festival was postponed until 2007. Once it reestablished itself, the festival became the main fundraiser for Knights of Columbus Rummel Council, which has allowed them to donate over $100,000 per year to multiple community initiatives throughout the St. Bernard Community and the surrounding areas. Since Hurricane Katrina, the Louisiana Crawfish Festival has donated over 2 million dollars back to the community. The festival is hosted by the Louisiana Crawfish Fest Foundation with a mission to help those in need and to support community programs in St. Bernard Parish and the surrounding areas. Admission to the festival is free today, $20 on Friday and $10 on Saturday and Sunday. Carnival ride bands are $20 on Thursday, $25 Friday and $30 for Saturday and Sunday. For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.louisianacrawfishfestival.com

LSU Gymnast Aleah Finnegan has been named a finalist for the prestigious 2025 AAI Award, which is awarded to the top senior gymnast in the nation by the American Athletic Inc. Finnegan was chosen a finalist from a field of 59 nominees. She is joined by Oklahoma’s Jordan Bowers and Audrey Davis, Oregon State’s Jade Carey, Florida’s Leanne Wong and Utah’s Grace McCallum. Voting will be conducted by NCAA women's gymnastics head coaches with the winner to be announced at the NCAA Championships Banquet in Fort Worth, TX next month. LSU has seen four AAI Award Winners in school history, the most by any school since 2010 and the most in the SEC. The prestigious group includes Haleigh Bryant (2024), Aleah's sister, Sarah Finnegan (2019), Ashleigh Gnat (2017) and Susan Jackson (2010). This year, Finnegan has competed in the all-around in all but two meets this year, putting up season highs of 9.950 on vault and bars, 10.0 on beam, 9.975 on floor and 39.725 in the all-around. Nationally, she has ranked amongst the top 20 all-around gymnasts in the nation for nine out of 12 weeks of regular season competition. Finnegan is an eight time All-American and All-SEC member who owns eight perfect scores in her career, with the most recent coming this season on beam. She was the first Tiger this year to earn a perfect 10 and it was only the third perfect score on beam in the country. Her eight-career perfect 10’s is the sixth most in LSU history, including the second most on floor. She owns 36 titles in her career so far at LSU, with 13 of those coming in 2025. She owns 14 titles on floor, 10 on beam, six on vault, five in the all-around and one on bars. Her 14 floor titles ties for the seventh most in LSU history, which she currently shares with her sister, Sarah Finnegan. On top of her collegiate success, Finnegan has continued be a great representative of LSU across NCAA Gymnastics and the world stage, becoming the first LSU Gymnast to represent the Tigers in the Olympics when she competed in the qualifying rounds of the 2024 Paris Olympics with Team Philippines.

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On Saturday, March 22nd, the Epilepsy Alliance Louisiana will host their 1st annual Seize the Day Warrior Walk in New Orleans. Founded in 1977, the Epilepsy Alliance Louisiana is dedicated to supporting those impacted by epilepsy in local communities by confronting the spectrum of challenges created by seizures. They offer resources and information with a “hands on” approach and is the only agency of its type in Louisiana to exclusively provide outreach, education, and advocacy to individuals with epilepsy. Seize the Day Warrior Walk is one of the most powerful ways you can raise awareness and make a lasting impact for those living with epilepsy in your own community. The events are now held in Baton Rouge, New Orleans, as well as Youngsville, combining both fun and community spirit with a powerful purpose. These walks offer more than an opportunity to raise awareness and funds, they are also a chance to connect with others and strengthen the epilepsy community. The funds raised will help support vital programs and services for individuals and families affected by epilepsy, ensuring no one must face the challenges of epilepsy alone. To learn more about the Epilepsy Alliance Louisiana or to register for one of the walks, please visit www.epilepsylouisiana.org

It's another week and another honor for LSU Gymnastics freshman Kailin Chio, who has just won her ninth career SEC Freshman of the Week honor. This breaks the previous single season record by any freshman in the conference since the award began in 2009. Chio shares the Week 11 honor with Oklahoma’s Addison Fatta after both freshmen put up a 39.650 in the all-around last Friday. Chio now has the most SEC Freshman of the Week honors in SEC history, breaking the previous record of eight set by Florida’s Kayla DiCello’s in 2023. Chio also holds the LSU record for the most SEC awards by a gymnast in their first season. She surpassed Haleigh Bryant’s previous record of five in 2021. Chio recorded her first career perfect 10 in the Tigers regular season finale against No. 14 Auburn last Friday. She became the first freshman in the country to earn a 10 this season after her flawless yurchenko one and a half on vault and her 10 on vault was only the third in the country so far this season. She put up a strong performance to add to LSU’s season high road victory last Friday, recording scores of 9.900 on bars and 9.925 on floor on top of her perfect 10.0 on vault. She took home the vault title on the night, her 20th title this season and sixth on the event, winning at least one title in all but one competition so far this year. In only her first year as a Tiger, Chio has earned a spot among the top five gymnasts in the nation for four straight weeks, currently ranking No. 5 in the all-around with her NQS of 39.670. She also sits in the top 10 nationally in the vault and beam rankings, including the No. 1 spot on vault with her NQS of 9.955 on the event.

The highly anticipated 4th Annual Food Fight returns on Thursday, March 27th, at the Carousel Lawn at Lafreniere Park in Metairie. Organized by Yeah You Right Events, this exclusive one-night-only event promises a diverse and exciting mix of exceptional food, cocktails, and live entertainment. This exciting food competition features over 40 restaurants and 30 spirits competing to see who can create the Top New Orleans dishes and cocktails. Local chefs and bartenders will compete in five categories: Top Traditional Dish, Top Creative Dish, Top Vegetarian Dish, Top Classic Cocktail, and Top Creative Cocktail for NOLA Boards trophies. This all-inclusive event benefits the PLEASE Foundation, a Louisiana non-profit dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty in New Orleans through education. PLEASE Foundation provides at-risk teens with mentorship, leadership training, and scholarships to attend local college-preparatory high schools. Food Fight organizer Shane Finkelstein said, “We’ve found that Lafreniere Park is the perfect venue for our events. This year, we have the most diverse lineup of restaurants we’ve ever had, and it’s going to be an unforgettable night.” Food Fight 2025 ticketing options include: $145 VIP $115 Early Entry/First Tasting $95 General Admission Early Bird tickets are available online now. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.foodfightnola.com

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with LSU legend Kramer Robertson. Kramer was kind enough to give me some of his time. Take us back to Midway High School; talk to us about your recruitment process. Kramer: My recruiting process actually started pretty early after I attended Texas A&M and then LSU baseball camps in 9th grade. Things picked up after my sophomore summer, with more teams starting to recruit me. I ended up going on 3 visits my junior year, which were A&M, Ole Miss, and LSU, before obviously choosing LSU around Christmas time that year. Talk to us about your adjustment to college baseball. Kramer: The adjustment to college in general was tough for me. My entire freshman fall, like lots of kids, I was just homesick. I actually hit really well that fall but still felt like I couldn't do anything right. I was your typical freshman just trying to survive each day. Talk to us about your freshman season in 2014. Kramer: My freshman season had ups and downs. For the first time in my career, I was dealing with being in and out of the lineup and really, failure as well. These were such vital lessons for me as I went on later in my career. Talk to us about that SportsCenter Top 10 catch against Grambling State University. Kramer: The catch against Grambling is still one of my favorite baseball memories. First career start, I was so nervous I remember my legs shaking in the first inning. I had made those catches countless times as a young kid in my yard pretending I was on SportsCenter, so to do it in my first career game was truly surreal. In 2016 you burst onto the scene, seeing time at shortstop and 2nd base. You hit .324 and helped lead the team to the College World Series. Talk to us about your junior season. Kramer: My junior season is where it finally all clicked for me. My first two seasons didn't go exactly how I had hoped, but I had learned so much and felt physically better than ever. Week 3 I got moved to shortstop and never missed another game there the rest of my career. I felt like the experience we gained as a team in 2016 really set the tone for what we knew would be a special 2017 team. In 2017 you start all 72 games at shortstop; talk to us about that season. Kramer: We knew going into 2017 we were going to be super talented. 4 of us turned down real money in the draft to come back for another season with a talented class coming in. It really was one of the best teams you could ever be a part of. We were such good friends away from the field, and we were a damn good baseball team. From offense to defense to pitching, we were stacked. I still lose sleep to this day thinking about losing that national championship. Take us back to the 2016 Arkansas series. You guys sweep the Razorbacks, but 2 things happen in that series. Talk to us about the "Rally Possum" and your busted lip. Kramer: Yeah, the famous Rally Possum game that was for everyone, except me (haha). But yeah, obviously, I got smoked in the mouth, and it was gruesome, but there was just no way I was coming out of the game. Ironically, it just happened to be in a famous 9-2 comeback win on national TV, so it blew up, and everyone got to see how ugly I looked that night. I got the game winning hit and had to try to do interviews with that fat lip. It was pretty awful, but a fun memory now. In 2017 you were selected in the 4th round of the MLB draft; talk to us about the draft process. Kramer: Getting drafted was another feeling I'll never forget. It was something I thought and dreamed about so much as a kid. I could not believe this was my reality. So many people had helped me get to that point, and it was really rewarding to see all of their reactions. It was all of our moment. What is your opinion on Coach Mainieri at South Carolina? Kramer: Coach Mainieri has had the greatest impact of anyone on my baseball career. I love that man. I wish him nothing but success, except when they play LSU. What is your opinion on the LSU baseball program today? Kramer: LSU baseball is in a great place and exactly where it should be - competing for national championships. Jay understands the expectations here, and he's absolutely crushing it. LSU baseball is here to stay. What is it like having Kim Mulkey, a living legend, as a mother? Kramer: Things have always been a bit more public having Kim Mulkey as your mom, but that helped prepare me for my own career later in life. But outside of the public, she's so cool; we have a great relationship. Things are better since she's been at LSU, but that's okay; she hasn't changed one bit and never will. I'm so grateful for her. What is Kramer Robertson up to nowadays? Kramer: I am now working in the LSU athletic administration. My official title is the sports performance analyst, but I will be doing many different things in the department. Looking forward to being back at LSU. Plug your social media handle; tell everyone where they can find you. Kramer: @kramerrobertson Follow me on X (the artist formerly known as Twitter): @eazytro