Archbishop Riordan’s annual Crab Feed featured an hour of refreshments and hors d’oeuvres, followed by a crab dinner, courtesy of Riordan’s own Epicurean catering company.
Paul Cronin ’93, the director of the event, said that the event raised $13,000, the most successful Crab Feed that he is aware of. The money will go toward Riordan Tuition Assistance, which Cronin identifies as “Riordan’s biggest need.”
Parents, faculty, staff, sponsors, and alumni were invited to attend this event, which provides a great platform to reminisce on all that Riordan has accomplished. The months leading up to the Crab Feed were extremely promising, as the construction of Riordan’s revitalized field was sure to be a topic of conversation.
“I anticipated less attendance due to us falling short a bit last year,” Cronin stated. “But we had a lot more donors sponsor the event this year, which helped tremendously.”
Last year’s annual Crab Feed saw a shortage of crab, but this year’s event was supervised under new management. As a result, Riordan had more than enough crab to offer this year. The leftover crab was sold for $20 a bag.
About 25 current Crusaders volunteered at the Crab Feed, excited at the prospect of earning tips while serving the Riordan community simultaneously. Drew Parenti ’22, who volunteered for the first time at the Crab Feed, initially didn’t want to work the event: “I wasn’t looking forward to it, but doing it was actually fun.” The event was exciting for Parenti because “[he] got to do it with a lot of [his] friends.”
Despite the exciting atmosphere of the event, the volunteers did have to work hard bussing tables and serving food. Parenti admits that his least favorite part of the evening was “cleaning after because everyone was really tired after a long day of working… we were there for a good 5-6 hours of working hard.”
Cronin appreciates the hard work and dedication the volunteers and kitchen staff put into the event. He said, “It’s pretty special and a great experience for the young men of Riordan to work hard and get some socializing experience.”
Overall, the Crab Feed proved to be a success compared to recent years. “I think we figured out the right formula and will stick with it,” Cronin said. “When an event runs as smooth as this one did, I expect us to do really well in future years.”
Guests left with their stomachs filled with crab and hearts filled with cheer.
