One of Mississippi's largest
festivals is set to begin in
Grenada, Mississippi on June 9.
The 18th annual
Thunder on the Water makes a
splash with a carnival on Wednesday
and Thursday followed by a hurricane
of events that run through June 13.
The festival began as a way to
promote safe boating and at one time
included boat racing. In the
ensuing years, the marine racing ran
aground, however, the promotion of
boating safety continues to this
day. Last year over 113,000 people
attended the event, according to
event organizer and committee
chairperson, Wanda Roche. "We have
promoted this year's event very
heavily and are expecting an even
bigger crowd this year", Roche
said. Roche, who has been on the
festival committee for all 18 of the
event's years, helped to co-found
the event with Jeff Plummer along
with the generous support of the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
This year's event has more
activities than ever before. Some
of the scheduled events include the
midway show, arts & crafts, 5 mile
run/ 3 mile walk, a professional
rodeo by JBarB Rodeo, professional
wrestling, helicopter rides,
Crossroads Cruiser car and
motorcycle show, a fishing rodeo and
tournament, tractor pull, a
world-class fireworks exhibition by
Pyrotecnico, a youth beauty
pageant, blues and country concerts
performed by nationally recognized
stars, and of course plenty of great
food to eat.
The concerts include some popular
blues acts that include
Blue Mother Tupelo, Narvell,
Reba Russell Band, and
Lucious Spiller, all playing on
Friday evening, the 11th. Then on
the evening of Saturday, the 12th,
country music aficionados get to
enjoy the likes of
Jordyn Mallory,
Busted Screen Door,
Colt Ford, Cuter Brown,
LoCash Cowboys, and
Matt Stillwell. Gospel concerts
will follow on Sunday in the Praise
on the Water concert.
Maximum Championship Wrestling
is promoting the wrestling event to
be held on Saturday, the 12th.
Several nationally-famous wrestlers
such as
Dirty Dutch Mantell,
Lord Humongous, Max Steel, and
the Giant Hillbilly will be in town
looking for a fight. Organizer
Joe Carter is calling this
"Mississippi Wrestlemania" while
promoter
Hollywood Jimmy Blayblock says
there will be a few surprise guests
coming down that everyone will
know. Past competitors have
included stars like
Jerry Lawler and
Bill Dundee.
Additionally, the
ABATE club of Mississippi will
be rolling into Grenada with over
100 motorcycles to display at the
car show. The American Bikers
Active Toward Education organization
has chapters all over the country
and are especially active in giving
to charities in communities across
the nation.
