Catfish Days look good to go in Wilmington

Last month, the state of Illinois moved from Phase 4 to the Bridge to Phase 5 in the Restore Illinois Plan, an guideline created by Gov. JB Pritzker and the Illinois Department of Public Health to reopen the economy following closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.

That change includes increases in capacity limits for all businesses, as well as increases for festivals and flea markets.

The new capacity limit, which includes an upper limit of 30 people per 1,000 square feet of space for both outdoor festivals and outdoor markets, means that for an acre of available space for festival grounds, the capacity limit would be roughly 1,300 people.

It’s good news for festival organizers for Catfish Days in Wilmington.

The festival was forced to cancel in 2020, due to restrictions put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. While organizers had hoped to have a smaller version of a festival in the fall, restrictions never allowed for those plans to move forward.

But, with the latest guidance allowing for outdoor festivals to go on, organizers are planning for the return of the festival on July 22-25.

This year’s theme will be “The Blues Brothers Does Catfish Days.”

This year’s craft show and flea market will take place on Saturday, July 24, on Water Street in downtown Wilmington from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Mud volleyball will also return to the Route 66 Bar and Grill at 113 E. Baltimore St. throughout the event.

Information on the festival and links to forms for flea market vendors and mud volleyball can be found on the Catfish Days website, www.catfishdays.com.

Catfish Days began in 1976, but faced a 14 year hiatus after the 1985 festival. The festival returned in 1999 and went on successfully every year until the pandemic shut down last year’s event.