NICEVILLE - It's a festival where a so-called "trash fish" has become a gourmet delicacy, and planners say the recession won't take a bite out of the fun.

Channel Three's Laura Hussey has more from the 33rd Annual Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival.

The last couple of years, it seems the economy's been taking everybody for a ride, and at times, it's been a bumpy one. But organizers of the Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival think this weekend could be a good one."

Pre-sales for the festival, named after a fish, have been going, well, swimmingly.

And there were so many vendor applications, some had to be turned away.

The ones who made it in are counting on the festival's profitable reputation, and an expected three-day crowd of fifty thousand.

For years, the Mullet Festival has had an appeal that seems to defy the odds.

At the Boggy Boys' Tent, they'll sell about ten thousand pounds of a fish some people throw back.

Sound check is starting right now for country entertainer Chuck Wicks, who performs later tonight. Saturday, it's Blake Shelton and Sunday, Billy Ray Cyrus. With that kind of entertainment, and of course mullet, organizers say it can't help but be a successful weekend.

Reporting at the Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival in Niceville, Laura Hussey, Channel Three News.Mullet Festival Swims Against Bad Economy