AustinCountry.com | Culture, Crafts and Catfish

Culture, Crafts and Catfish

Austin Helms
Mississippi College
JOU 453
2004

Chances are, Belzoni (pronounced bell-zone-ah) is not a familiar word on most people’s tongue. Even a good game of 20 questions would not stir a recollection of the name to some. Is it an animal or vegetable or a mineral?

In truth, Belzoni is a little town of less that 3,000 people located in the center of the Mississippi Delta right off of Hwy 49. Although the county seat of Humphreys County, it is your typical Small Town, USA. Downtown consists of basically one block. There are a total of five traffic lights in city limits. The town does have a movie theater, but it is an old one-screener converted into a two-screener. To further drive the point home, there are no McDonald’s or Wendy’s to speak of. The nearest Wal-Mart Supercenter is nearly an hour’s drive away.

However, Belzoni does have one thing to speak of. Catfish. That’s right, farm-grown, pond-raised catfish. Of course, the rich Delta soil also produces such crops as cotton, soybean, corn, and sweet potatoes, but it is in catfish that Belzoni finds its pride. Mississippi produces 75 percent of the country’s consumed catfish, and Belzonians will be quick to tell you that Humphreys County’s 35,000 acres of ponds produce more of that catfish than any other county. So, it is suitable that Belzoni proudly calls itself the Catfish Capital of the World.

To celebrate its title, Belzoni has a festival on the first Saturday of every April. The World Catfish Festival draws visitors from all over the country and even a few international tourists. This April will be the Festival’s 29th year, making it one of the oldest festivals in Mississippi. In fact, Southern Living magazine named the Festival one of the Top 20 in the U.S. The Festival’s assistant director, Paulette Solomon, believes it is because of the atmosphere. “A lot of festivals have gotten away from the family,” she said, “We try to offer something for everyone in a family-oriented environment.” With an average of 15,000 to 20,000 people a year (more than five times the town’s total population), whatever they are doing is apparently working.

So what can potential catfish-seekers expect from this annual culture event? Well, an early start to begin with. Gates open at 8:45 a.m. Admission for the entire day (until 5 p.m.) is only $2. Anyone under the age of 12 gets in for free. All throughout the day, entertainment is provided on the Courthouse steps. Usually, local dance schools have recitals first. Live bands usually follow, playing anything from country to good ol’ rock-and-roll.

However, you probably will want to check out the shopping. You will have over 200 booths of arts and crafts of the flea market persuasion to choose from. Anything from clothes and jewelry to live hermit crabs and woodwork will be prominently displayed in the streets of downtown. More than likely, it will take you two passes before you see everything.

After a long morning of shopping, lunchtime will start to sound really nice. Of course the most logical choice would be…catfish! From 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., catfish will be fried in the Courthouse parking lot. Catfish plates, which include fried catfish, french fries, and fried hush puppies (with a lot of ketchup, of course), cost $7 for adults and $5 for children. If you are not a catfish-lover, however, there are some choices. One of the local churches provides concession stand foods, such as hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken sandwiches. There are state fair-type foods available also (pretzels, funnel cakes, and the like).

While you are eating, be sure to watch the crowning of Miss Catfish. The event is the culmination of a weeklong process in which girls from all over the state are judged according to beauty, speaking skills, and overall general knowledge about the catfish industry. The ladies vying for this position spend more time in study than they do working on their hair.

Oh! It’s almost one o’ clock! If you missed the 11 a.m. show, be sure you hurry over to the Depot Theatre to see the Garden Club’s children’s play. For 2004, they will be performing “Red Riding Hood and the Wolf.” Admission is only $1, but be sure to get there early since the Depot Theatre is rather small.

The play will get out around 2 p.m. You now have time to view other aspects of Belzoni since you are here anyway. From the downtown area, the farthest attraction out (around five minutes) is Wister Gardens. Located just north of the town, Wister Gardens is a beautiful flower-laden property that is free to the public. The site features immense assortments of roses, azaleas, daylilies, and a sundry of fruit plants that bloom in the spring. The estate also contains a four-acre lake with swans and ducks scattered about.

Driving back into town, be sure to stop by Moma’s Dream World. This museum is the former home of Ethel Wright Mohamed, known by many as the “Grandma Moses of stitchery.” Mrs. Mohamed, or Big Moma, as she is known around Belzoni, created pictures of events from her life for her children by using needlework. Tom Turner, mayor of Belzoni for going on 23 years, is particularly proud of the museum. “Mrs. Mohamed’s stitchery is quite unusual,” he said, “There’s not anything like it in the U.S. She has left a real legacy with her work. It’s something everyone should see.” In fact, some of Big Moma’s work can be found in the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. For more information, you can visit their website (www.momasdreamworld.com).

Before you park to enjoy the Festival some more, take a drive around the town of Belzoni. You should acquire a map of the Catfish on Parade when you gain admittance. Currently, 34 catfish statues are prominently mounted all throughout the town. Each fish is painted to a certain theme, from Stars and Stripes to crop-dusting. The fish are Turner’s pride. “All of the fish were done by local artists—people who either live here or grew up here and moved away as adults, but they all have a Belzoni-connection. I think this really says a lot for our community. That a community bigger than we are would have this many artist connections is really quite remarkable,” said Turner.

After all of that driving, you will still have a little while to relax at the festival. You will definitely want to see the catfish-eating contest before you pack your new items up for the drive home. Your day was well spent, and even better, your money was not so spent. The Catfish Festival is a highly affordable Saturday to spend with your family and friends. So take a visit to Belzoni, the small town with a big heart. You won’t regret it.

For more information about Belzoni, the World Catfish Festival, and attractions, they are located on the Internet (www.catfishcapitalonline.com/catcapinfo.htm).