The World’s Biggest Fish Fry returns to Paris for 68th year

PARIS, Tenn. — A famous annual festival has made its way back to West Tennessee, after being cancelled last year due to COVID-19. Today began the kickoff of a West Tennessee favorite that really cooks!

“Everybody in this area, really everybody in this region, they’re used to fish fry kicking off our spring and when that didn’t happen, things just weren’t right, so people are excited, they’re here. It’s part of our traditions,” said Travis McLeese, CEO of the Paris-Henry County Chamber of Commerce.

The World’s Biggest Fish Fry held in Paris, Tennessee is the only place to cook 11,000 pounds of fish in just four days. General manager of the fish tent, David Hayes, says he’s been awaiting the big return.

“Oh, it’s been crazy. You kind of feel like you forgot what to do. It’s been exciting. It’s good to see everybody. All these people function as a family and a group. It’s been wonderful to get back together,” said Hayes.

Also a popular food among the fish fry faithful is hand-breaded hush puppies.

“We’re cooking hush puppies right now. We try to do 200 hush puppies every 6 minutes. If you figure 200 every six minutes for 28 hours that’s about 50,000 hush puppies,” said Jeffrey Morris, hush puppy cook.

Executive board member for the World’s Biggest Fish Fry, Lisa Dicus, says there was a line wrapped around the fish tent as early as 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. She says it’s something the community has been dying to see come back.

“It could not have come at a better time for our community. It’s something that we really missed last year, and to be able to come together and do it this year and to hopefully have a better, bigger year, we’re so stoked,” said Dicus.

Former general manager for the fish fry, Cecilia Casey, says she feels this is a start of moving forward out of a tough time.

“Something for the community to get back to some kind of normalcy and to get us all together and as one and have fun,” said Casey.

You can catch the World’s Biggest Fish Fry for the next three days up until Saturday from 5 p.m. – 9.p.m. at the Paris Fairgrounds.