69th World’s Biggest Fish Fry Parade moves through Paris
PARIS, Tenn. — Organizations across West Tennessee came together to walk in the 69th annual World’s Biggest Fish Fry Parade.
Over 30 organizations participated in the parade that made its way through Paris on Friday, including several school bands and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.
Elizabeth Jones grew up in Paris, and she and her family come to the parade every year.
“This is kind of a tradition for our family to come and take off. We come down here and visit, see everybody in the parade, eat fish and stuff like that. It was really good,” Jones said.
Jones says they never miss a year because they love to see the familiar faces of their community.
“Being able just to have that freedom to gather, watch people going down. People I saw when I was little, now doing pageants and stuff like that. It is just a really good time for the town to come together and show love,” Jones said.
Brooke Blankenship and Taylor French say they come every year, but this year felt a little different.
“Last year, I saw a lot of masks and social distance from each other, but this year a lot more people are closer to each other,” French said.
“They are coming more together. Last year if you coughed, they would move away from you. Now, this year you can see people hugging and talking and everything,” Blankenship said.
When asked if they would come back next year, the answer was immediate.
“Yes, I will be back,” Jones said.
“Yes, definitely. We live here so we come every year,” Blankenship said.
The Small Fry Parade will be at 10 a.m. on Saturday.
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