Hernando hosts the 20th annual Palmer Home Mudbug Bash  

Photo: Mudbugs, and more, were the menu for the 20th annual Palmer Home for Children Mudbug Bash, held on Panola Street in Hernando. (Bob Bakken/desotocountynews.com)

Saturday night in Hernando was a great night for children, but a tough night if you were a mudbug.  

The crawfish delicacy was liberally consumed, as were available libations, and the live music kept the night hopping under a tent set up over Panola Street in Hernando for the Palmer Home for Children’s 20th anniversary Mudbug Bash. 

The evening, which also included a popular Wine and Bourbon Pull and a silent auction of merchandise from local vendors, is a major fundraiser for the Palmer Home.

The mission of the Palmer Home, originally based in Columbus, Mississippi but is now centered on Baldwin Road west of Hernando, remains to offer a safe, secure, caring place for children in need.

The Mudbug Bash, over two decades, has been an event that features a good time, enjoying good food, drink, and good music, all for a good cause. 

Palmer Home President/CEO Drake Bassett said the longevity of the event is impressive.  

“It’s exciting that the community for 20 years has continued to make a statement that they care about the welfare and well being of children by getting behind Palmer Home for Children and supporting the work that we do,” Bassett said. “I think they know what we do and I think they’ve seen the results, but for them to come out and publicly support this effort means a lot.”

Palmer Home for Children is 100 percent based on donations, so events like the Mudbug Bash and the annual Radiothon, which has raised about $2.7 million in its 11 years of existence on the Supertalk Mississippi stations, are very important to the home’s mission.  

Another item of note about the Mudbug Bash is that Hernando has been the host site for the event in each of its 20 years.  

“You know, whether it’s community businesses, churches, people, all aspects of the community, we feel the love in DeSoto County, and we’re extremely grateful for that,” Bassett said.  

Find out more by visiting the Palmer Home for Children website.