Local crawfish boils hope to raise money for veterans, animal rescue groups

NORTH JACKSON, Tenn. – A pair of spots in Jackson held fundraising crawfish boils on Saturday.

The first event was the boil for the Veterans of Foreign Wars at Post 1848 in North Jackson. The organization says they are raising money to help fund their operations, which help veterans come together.

“We provide a great place for veterans to get together, to support each other, to have a real sense of community and bonding,” said bar manager at Post 1848, Katie Gonzalez.

Jon Harrison is an Air Force veteran who has been a part of Post 1848 for decades. He says the organization is a vital resource for local veterans.

“We like to provide a safe place, where veterans can come and just know that there are other veterans here, other brothers and sisters here,” said Harrison.

The next event was at Hub City Brewing, where animal rescue group Redemption Road Rescue decided to boil up some of their own crawfish. Their event had a fun twist to celebrate the Preakness horse race.

“We’re having a cornhole contest, we’re having a bowling contest, and were also having a hat contest later on,” said event coordinator for Redemption Road Rescue, Amber Storey-Knight.

Participants brought out their thinking caps for their Preakness cap designs. Organizers with the event said they are excited about how the donations will help their operations.

“We rescue horses that are in need, sometimes it’s through cruelty and neglect cases, and sometimes it’s good people who get in a bad situation and need help,” said Director of Redemption Road Rescue, Lori Collins.

At both events, organizers were not focused on the amount of money, but instead the experience of everyone who came.

“We don’t really know–as much as possible,” said Gonzalez.

“This is the last crawfish boil of the season, so we’re just excited to share the joy,” said Storey-Knight.