Community Day on Dauphin Island

DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. (WALA) - After canceling the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo in June, the Mobile Jaycees decided to revive at least a small part of the event. It's called "The One that Got Away Community Day."

"Kind of like the Rodeo that got away, and we're trying to do something for the community. So we made it a community type event for the whole day," Todd Bishop said.

Bishop said the idea is to preserve the popular "Liar's Contest," and bring crowds of people back to the island for a day.

"We hope people come down and check this out. But more importantly, we hope they come down, eat lunch, romp around, go to the fort, and see what else Dauphin Island has to offer," he said.

Fred and Kathy Killion were among the early arrivals. Fred said he hasn't missed a rodeo in years The one day event makes the bitter pill a little easier to take.

"It helps people. I guess the fact that they're not having the rodeo, and for someone like us we enjoy it, so we get a chance to get down here and see what it would be like if they had it going on," Killion said.

The parking lot at the rodeo site was full, but there was an indication something was missing.

"All we say is, there would have been a lot of cars, there would be a lot of people down here, there would be and that's unfortunate. So next year, we have to hope there will be," Kathy Killion added.

The miles of boom around the island is also a reminder of the real tragedy out in the Gulf. And no one can predict when the rodeo will be back.

"We'll have to wait and see what the scientists say as to whether there are toxins in the fish in the Gulf," Fred Killion said.