The Franklin Parish Catfish Festival had its beginnings in early 1986 when a small group of individuals discussed the possibility of establishing a local event to promote Franklin Parish. The parish at this time was experiencing the emergence of a new industry in the field of aquaculture — specifically, farm raised catfish centered in the Wisner area. Thousands of acres of ponds were constructed, one processing plant existed, and a second processing plant and a feed mill were in the planning stages. This new and growing industry presented itself as an excellent theme around which to build a
