Johnny G's Creole Kitchen - Beale St. Memphis

It's not too often you'll see a top-hat wearing, cigar-smoking Catfish.

Would you like to see more photos from Beale street? Check out the Beale Street gallery

Welcome to Paris, TN Catfish sign

Paris, TN is known for two things that outsiders want to some to visit and see. First, is the replica Eiffel Tower. Second, and has been around longer, is the sign welcoming visitors to town.

Located at the intersection of US79 and US641, all visitors from the south will pass by here. Paris claims to be home every year to the world's largest fish fry. This premier event started in 1953 and 12,500 pounds of catfish get eaten during the weeklong festivities.

September in Paris

September in Paris sounds romantic - unless your talking about Paris, TN, in which case your romantic mileage may vary.

A vacant building on the town square lists many of the upcoming events, of which there were plenty. Other windows gave the events for other months, but only this one has an Eiffel Tower, of which the TN city has a replica, along with a beret-wearing catfish. Paris's other claim to fame if the World's Biggest Fish Fry. These events are for 2011, so don't expect any of these dates to work this year.

Catsupfish

I was going through my photo archives of things from several years ago and came across this which was during the place-catfish-all-around-Nashville craze halfway through last decade. I think it's since been removed, but at the time it was in front of the Ronald McDonald (get it?) house near the Vanderbilt Children's Hospital.

Cumberland River Catfish

This catfish is located along part of the downtown Cumberland River Greenway, in the section near Bicentennial Mall. Several years ago, there was a project to place many of these artfully designed catfish (or is it catfishes?) all over the city. Since then, smaller towns have done this, such as Pulaski with turkeys and Crossville with otters.

Boy Scout Catfish

at the boy scout building at the corner of Hillsboro (U.S. 431) and Woodmont Blvd in the Green Hills area of Nashville. I guess it's really a boy scout, but I used to think it was a state trooper catfish until I realized where it was.

The catfish were all over downtown sometime around 2004, and it was almost a game to see how many you could find. After a few months, they were sold, and it would make sense this one ended here.