HENDERSON — New York City has its ball, Atlanta has its peach and Mobile, its Moon Pie — this year, Henderson will have a catfish.
Vance County Tourism will hold the inaugural Catfish Drop at Satterwhite Point, beside the Glass House, on Dec. 31 from 3-7 p.m.
Attendees can expect bounce houses, face painting, food trucks and fireworks, if the flyer is any indication. Fred’s Towing, it seems, is providing the mechanism by which the catfish will be dropped.
It won’t be a bona fide midnight drop, not yet, at any rate — Vance County Tourism Director said that was so kids could take part and be home before bedtime.
Raleigh has done something similar for the last half a century — dropping an acorn once at 7 p.m., for the kids, and again at midnight.
As mentioned, many areas in the state and beyond have New Year’s Eve celebrations and events — but none can be found in the local community. That’s why Hester set about creating the Catfish Drop.
And Christy Stainback, a local artist, reeled in the catfish itself, so to speak. She created a 10-foot-high, 700-pound steel catfish statue for the event that has yet to be revealed.
Kerr Lake holds the world record for the largest blue catfish ever caught, when angler Richard Anderson fished up a 143-pounder on the Virginia side back in 2011.
Hence, the Catfish Drop.
Afterwards, the plan is to put Stainback’s catfish on display at various state parks. Hester encouraged members of the community to take part in the inaugural event.