Omnivore - Crawfish for Cancer uses art to spread the word
My strong hope is that what we’re doing here in Atlanta with CFC will help drive younger professionals to understand and realize that they can be part of a philanthropic cause and also still enjoy their social life.’
New York is known for a lot of things: bagels, Rockefeller Center, the Yankees, and even its newest transplant, Taylor Swift. As multifaceted as the Big Apple is, however, there are some time-honored Southern customs that fade away across the Mason-Dixon Line. That’s why, when Georgia native Daniel Gura and four of his college buddies decided that they would bestow part of their knowledge — and philanthropic motives — on the Northeast with the first annual Crawfish for Cancer (CFC), it was met with open arms.
Since its launch in 2008, the charity has seen exponential growth, expanding the event to five other cities: Washington, D.C.; Chicago; Atlanta; Boston, and Charleston, S.C. Last year alone the organization raised $90,000 for its charity of choice, the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. Whether by causation or correlation, these record numbers were attained in the same year that demand for attendance reached new heights — at one point tickets were even being scalped online. Clearly, the novelty of Southern culture (and seafood) is profitable up north.
Although the event will continue across the country, Crawfish for Cancer’s second annual Atlanta crawfish boil is not afraid of reclaiming its roots. Gura, a founding member of the company’s board of directors, believes that although the novelty factor of their product in New York contributes to its success, the Atlanta-based event will flourish independently. Ultimately he believes the superior product and caliber of team members will proffer results.
“What I want to do is have high-quality food. I want to have amazing liquors,” Gura says. “If we throw a high-quality event, it’s going to grow every year.” With Firefly sweet tea vodka, mint juleps, and the 2015 Kentucky Derby live broadcast, the event is one smear of pimento cheese away from an all-inclusive, unapologetic celebration of Southern tradition. CFC’s high-end Mississippi crawfish and signature cocktails are sure to grab the attention of a large crowd of its own accord.
Just because the event speaks for itself, however, doesn’t mean it couldn’t use a little help. Which is why Gura, when driving past the Krog Street Tunnel, noticed something special. Among the other graffiti, the work of Nels Loks in collaboration with Greg Mike stood out to the philanthropist and cancer research advocate.
Granted, the honesty of a giant “F*ck Cancer” mural would probably stand out to most people.
Regardless, the piece was compelling enough to prompt Gura to reach out and suggest a collaborative effort. As a result, Nels and Gura not only created an original mural in the Krog Street Tunnel to promote Atlanta’s Crawfish for Cancer, but also a T-shirt design that will be sold in conjunction with the event. As a gesture of good faith, 40 percent of the shirt sales will go to a charity of Nel’s choice.
Nels, who has had negative experiences working with nonprofits in the past, was initially skeptical of a professional relationship with Gura. However, despite those past experiences — and his distaste for seafood — the local street artist was eventually persuaded by the organization’s financial transparency and commitment to its cause.
“My strong hope is that what we’re doing here in Atlanta with CFC will help drive younger professionals to understand and realize that they can be part of a philanthropic cause and also still enjoy their social life,” Gura says.
CFC’s mission, like Nels, is also rooted in personal loss. James Crowell, president of CFC, lost his father to multiple myeloma, a cancer of the plasma cells, in 2014.
“Initially I started doing murals as an homage to my sister, and I still do,” Nels says. “I think of her every time I paint. For me, in the beginning it was just about letting out some of that pain that I went through after my sister passed away about two years ago from leukemia. In that one moment, when somebody is really overwhelmed, you never know. Just a little bit of faith and support can mean the world of a difference to someone.”