According to a 1978 newspaper preview, the Stomp in Catfish Stomp was a footrace. The race has since disappeared from the schedule, but the parade and the stew are still here, and so is the habit of paying a small fee to take part. In 2026 every one of those checks is made out to the Elgin Police Department Toys Roundup and Caring Hands Foundation.
The Town of Elgin's history page says the first Catfish Stomp was held in 1976 "in an effort to put the 'town on the map.'" Now it's Elgin's biggest Saturday of the year. The 51st Annual Catfish Stomp is Saturday, December 5, 2026.
The Stomp was a 10K
In November 1978 the Columbia Record previewed the third annual Elgin Catfish Stomp. That article is preserved on Kershaw County's history archive. It describes a day with an 11 a.m. Christmas parade, catfish stew at noon and then the Stomp itself:
"The Catfish Stomp will be held at 12:15 p.m., beginning in front of Blaney Elementary School. This 6.2-mile (10,000 meter) event will be run over a scenic course."
The race cost $4 to enter. Runners who registered before November 25 got a T-shirt, and checks went to the sponsoring Elgin Lions Club. Marching bands competed for $300 in cash prizes, and the winning band took home $150.
One detail has lasted almost half a century. In 1978, anyone with questions about the parade wrote to P.O. Box 277, Elgin. This year's parade entries go to Elgin Town Hall at the same address, PO Box 277, Elgin, SC 29045.
The parade is actually older than the festival. The town's history page says the Christmas parade began a year before the first Stomp.
Where the money has gone over the years
The race is gone, but the money side of the day never went away. Who gets that money has changed, though.
| Year | What people paid for | Where the money went |
|---|---|---|
| 1978 | A $4 entry for the 10K | Elgin Lions Club, the race sponsor |
| 1991 | The 16th annual festival | Elgin community projects |
| 2026 | Parade entries, vendor spaces, sponsorships | Elgin Police Department Toys Roundup and Caring Hands Foundation |
The 2026 fees appear on the town's Catfish Stomp page. A single parade entry is $20 and a multiple entry is $50. A regular 10x12 vendor space costs $40, and the vendor form has current pricing for the larger 10x20 space. Sponsors can give $250 for a free parade spot and a vendor space. A $500 sponsorship adds the sponsor's name or logo on the banner. Every one of those checks is made payable to the Elgin Police Department Toys Roundup and Caring Hands Foundation. The town's history page says the festival's proceeds benefit that same foundation.
The toy drive is much younger than the festival. In 2018 WIS reported that the Toy Roundup began in 2005. Then-Chief Harold Brown and his wife started it to help a small group of local families. Elgin's oldest festival now pays for one of its newer traditions.
How the dates line up
The toy drive's schedule and the festival's schedule end within a day of each other. This year the Toys Roundup is taking applications for Christmas assistance from October 21 through December 4, 2026, and applicants have to pick up the form in person at Town Hall. The window closes on Friday, December 4, and the Stomp is the next morning.
Here's the full run of dates, starting from when this post goes up:
- Friday, November 20: Vendor entries are due for the Christmas Tree Lighting.
- Friday, November 27: Parade entries, vendor applications and sponsorships are due for the Catfish Stomp. That's the day after Thanksgiving, so anyone mailing a form should send it the week before.
- Thursday, December 3, 6 to 8 p.m.: The Elgin Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony at Potter Community Park, with Santa as the special guest.
- Friday, December 4: The last day to apply for Toys Roundup assistance at Town Hall.
- Saturday, December 5, 8 a.m.: Vendors start setting up at Potter Community Park, where spots are marked with numbered flags.
- 8:30 a.m.: Parade entries line up on Bowen Street and Railroad Avenue, where spot numbers are painted on the side of the street.
- 10 a.m.: The parade leaves the corner of Bowen Street and Main Street and heads to Potter Community Park on Green Hill Road.
- Around 11 a.m.: The festival starts as soon as the parade ends.
The parade rules explain a lot about how the morning feels. Santa rides at the end of the parade, and entries can't use a live Santa or a life-size one because, in the town's words, "Children tend to get confused with multiple Santas." Floats and walkers aren't allowed to throw candy, and every entry has to be Christmas and family oriented. The tree lighting two nights earlier has the same one-Santa rule.
Potter Community Park sits at the corner of Green Hill Road and Main Street. It's named for the town's fallen Deputy Ernest C. "Chris" Potter and hosts most of Elgin's big events, the Stomp included.
The stew is still the main draw
The 10K is gone, but the food has been there from the start. The town's history page says 600 gallons of fish stew were served at the first Stomp in 1976. Ross Boulware was the first stew chef, and the town credits him with the flavor that kept people coming back. In 1991, The State's preview of the 16th annual festival, now kept on the county history archive, planned for about 500 gallons of catfish stew and 400 pounds of fried catfish.
These days the stew comes from the firehouse. The Kershaw County Chamber of Commerce says Blaney Fire Department volunteers cook and serve the catfish stew, with fried catfish and all the fixings on the side. The Chamber's parade listing also mentions arts and crafts vendors and the Miss Catfish Stomp Pageant, which is open to entrants from age 0 to adult.
Vendors should know the town says electricity will be limited this year and is asking people to register early. Every exhibitor, including churches and nonprofit volunteer groups, needs a tax number or proof of tax-exempt status. Food trucks at the tree lighting need a Town of Elgin business license.
How to put money into the toy drive
Since Stomp checks go to the Toys Roundup and Caring Hands Foundation, the town's own forms are the easiest way to give. Here are the options for 2026:
- Enter the parade: $20 for one entry or $50 for multiple entries, using the parade entry form.
- Take a vendor space: $40 for a regular 10x12 space, with the larger space priced on the vendor form.
- Sponsor the festival: $250 or $500. The town says sponsorship donations are tax deductible.
All three are due November 27 and go to Elgin Town Hall, PO Box 277, Elgin, SC 29045, attention Melissa Emmons, or by email to [email protected]. The town's 2026 notices don't list a drop-off spot for toys. If you'd rather give toys than a check, call Town Hall at 803-438-2362 before December 5.
The rest of the county's December
The Stomp is the first of Kershaw County's four Christmas parades, so it opens the season for the whole county. According to the Chamber's list, the next weekend has two more:
- Kershaw County Christmas Parade: Saturday, December 12, at 10 a.m. It starts at Broad Street and Laurens in downtown Camden and ends at the City Arena. This year's theme is "The Sound of Christmas."
- Lights of Lugoff: The same Saturday at 6:30 p.m. It's the county's only nighttime parade.
- Boykin Christmas Parade: Sunday, December 20, in Boykin.
Even with all that on the calendar, Elgin's parade has something none of the others do. It started as the warm-up to a 10K, and today its fees go to the Elgin Police Department Toys Roundup and Caring Hands Foundation.
At Half Moon Realty, Elgin is home. We'll be out at Potter Community Park on December 5 with a bowl of Blaney Fire Department stew like everybody else. If you're new to town and want to know where to park for the parade or how the morning usually goes, Contact Us and we'll gladly fill you in.
