A swarm of people from across east Mississippi descended on the small town of Walnut Grove Saturday as the town geared up for its annual festival, The Roux.
The family friendly event offered craft vendors, food, live music, a petting zoo, face painting antique cars, political speakers and more, bringing everything together for a day of fun, sunshine and festivities in the Walnut Grove park.
Brian Gomillion, mayor of Walnut Grove, said this year’s festival was a slightly different take on a decade’s long tradition.
“This is our fifth South of the River Roux. It is our new festival that replaced the 38-year run of Walnut Grove day. We recreated it a little later in the year, so it’s now every third Saturday in September,” he said.
Last year, the town wasn’t able to put on South of the River Roux, Gomillion said, so when they brought it back this time, they shortened the name to The Roux.
“We’re trying to get it back started again,” he said.
The day-long festival starts early in the morning with a 5k race and vendor setup. This year, Gomillion said about 70 runners participated in the race, including one from Virginia.
“I think he must’ve been in the area or something, but he came here and raced,” he said.
After all the runners have finished and the vendors set up, The Roux opens for business, drawing folks from all over the East Mississippi area. Gomillion said Walnut Grove may be a small town, but it’s very community oriented, and that family like atmosphere makes The Roux a special event.
“It’s all volunteer put together,” he said. “I have a small staff, a town staff, and they work several months to get ready for all this, but an all-volunteer committee puts it together,” he said. “We have about 40 sponsors that sponsor it from all around the state, so that’s how financially we’re able to do it.”
From political speakers and bounce houses to classic cars and musical acts, Gomillion said the annual festival celebrates community and family in Walnut Grove.
