Picnic fetes Atlantans with Mississippi roots

Picnickers can eat some catfish and hear some blues today.

The distinctive aroma of frying catfish wafting from Chastain Park today will do more than whet the appetite. It’s a call to anyone who hails from Mississippi to sit a spell and visit with the family.

Members of the Mississippi Society of Georgia spend most of the year planning the annual Picnic in the Park to reconnect the thousands of Atlanta residents who once called the Magnolia State home. The group estimates around 25,000 Mississippi natives now live in the metro area, and there are more with college connections.

“The University of Mississippi, Mississippi State and Southern Miss are just a few of the schools that have alumni in the area,” said organizer and picnic founder James Donald of Decatur. “But we consider Georgians our cousins, since part of Mississippi was formed from land ceded from Georgia in 1802. We have all been transplanted for some reason, but our goal is to bring some of the Mississippi culture to Atlanta, our adopted home.”

The picnic brings some of the state’s flavors and music to the Buckhead park. Picnickers will find catfish, imported from the Mississippi delta and prepared onsite by experts from Penn’s restaurant in Jacksonville. Two blues bands will play while the crowd eats cakes from the Sugaree Bakery and sips sweet tea from the recipe of McAllister’s Deli in Oxford. But having a Missis- sippi link isn’t a must for enjoying the day.

“Our goal is to accentuate the positive things about Mississippi,” said Donald. “One way we do that is to bring together representatives from the various Mississippi schools. They pass out information for anyone who interested in going to Ole Miss or any of those schools. We also have Mississippi authors on hand.”

The society raises money for a scholarship for metro area students who attend Mississippi colleges. Last year, the award was $5,000, funded largely through a golf tournament. The organization has also held events to raise money for relief in areas of the state hard-hit by floods or hurricanes.

Donald expects about 400 folks at the picnic. “We really want to emphasize that it’s free and open to anybody,” he said. “If they happen to drive by and hear great music and smell catfish cooking, they’re welcome to join us.” Each Saturday, we shine a spotlight on a local neighborhood, city or community. To suggest a place for us to visit, e-mail H.M. Cauley at hm_cauley@yahoo.com or call 770- 744-3042.