Catfish in the alley brought more than good food to the friendly city

Fresh fried catfish lingered through the streets of Columbus early Saturday morning

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI)- Fresh fried catfish lingered through the streets of Columbus early Saturday morning, and it wasn’t long before folks followed the scent to the downtown area.

Catfish in the Alley is historical event for the friendly city. In the late 19th Century African Americans socialized, shared meals, and brought economic opportunities. Howlin Wolf, Bukka White, and Big Joe Williams were key figures at that time.

Vendors at the event felt they were showing gratitude to those figures by setting up in such a historical spot.

“This is a historical event and it’s held every year and this is a tribute to african americans who have contributed to the rich history of Columbus Mississippi,” said vendor Shawtaie Mitchell.

The three day event kicked off on April 7.

On Saturday, people got the opportunity to listen to live blues and visit local vendors for homemade goods. The community coming out and being one brought joy to those that attended and those that put it together.

Nancy Carpenter, the CEO of visit Columbus, said getting the event back up and running was one thing she was eager to do after the pandemic because she knew how much it meant to folks then and now. This year they added a little more business to the alley.

“We combined artisans alley another event that we had with catfish in the alley so it became a music and craft festival. Everything that anyone sales has to be hand crafted and hand made so they don’t buy purses or bags or something on the internet and come and sell it,” said Carpenter.

The event is expected to go on in 2023 and could bring some bigger named artists to the stage.