PARIS, Tenn. — A West Tennessee tradition like none other kicked off Wednesday night for the 63rd year in a row.
Once a year Paris, Tennessee becomes the Catfish Capitol of the World for the “World’s Biggest Fish Fry”.
“We always get a good crowd and everyone is hungry, they want 3, 4, 5 pieces of fish at a time,” Henry County Commissioner Dell Carter said. “It’s the biggest thing that goes on in Henry County.”
They come from all over the globe and across the country.
“Someone asked me earlier where’s the furthest? and I think it was Germany and England,” one organizer said.
But fish is not the only hot item at the “World’s Biggest Fish Fry”. For 63 years, homemade hush puppies have made a splash as well.
Whether it is the Buchanan Free Masons or the Paris Jaycees, they work together to serve all 12,500 pounds of hand-breaded goodness.
“You see friends you haven’t seen in a year and you visit with people you don’t get to visit the rest of the year,” Jeff Morris said. “It’s just a social event.”
Whether it is your first fry or your 63rd, organizers said it is an event to come together.
“We get to invite people in that aren’t used to have this kind of community gathering and that gathering together is so much fun,” Connie McSwain said.
You may be wondering what makes this fish fry the worlds biggest, organizers said it is because every single piece is hand breaded and then fried in authentic cast iron pots.
The “World’s Biggest Fish Fry” has events through the rest of the week. For a full list, click here.
