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Shannon Melton stands by her husband, Lonnie Melton. The two own C&M Crawfish.

C&M's Fernando Gastelum adds potatoes and corn to plates of crawfish.

C&M's Najla Donnelly scoops up crawfish.

Boiling on the River patrons enjoy crawfish on the Natchez Bluff.

Boiling on the River served up more than 400 pounds of crawfish to benefit The Stewpot.

Participants line up at the Natchez Depot before cutting the ribbon on the newly completed River Room.

From left, Ward 1 Alderwoman Valencia Hall, Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson, Warren Reuther and his wife, Nancy, Chesney Doyle of Downtown Natchez Alliance and other volunteers look on as Reuther cuts the ribbon.

Dignitaries and friends line up for the ribbon cutting of the River Room at the Natchez Depot.

NATCHEZ — Mild temperatures and plenty of sunshine made for a beautiful day to be outside enjoying successful events on the Natchez Bluff.

At 11 a.m., residents and visitors were lined up to get plates of boiled crawfish, potatoes and corn at Boiling on the River, thanks to C&M Crawfish and the Natchez Convention Center and Walter Tipton. C&M and the Convention Center collaborated on the event. The proceeds went to support The Stewpot.

“C&M cooked just over 400 pounds of crawfish and they sold out at about 1 p.m.,” said Marcus Archer, director of The Stewpot and pastor of Crosspoint Church on Highland Boulevard.

Archer thanked Walter Tipton, who manages The Grand Hotel and the Natchez Convention Center properties and C&M owners Lonnie and Shannon Melton and their staff for their hard work and generosity.

“They’re great. They were amazing for the whole process. They are really great people and do a ton for our community,” Archer said.

Tipton said Boiling on the River, in addition to raising funds for The Stewpot, gave an example of how the Convention Center will use the River Room and surrounding areas.

“This event gave people a picture of what could be done so that people could see what it would look like to entertain a group on the Bluff,” Tipton said.

Tipton and the Natchez Convention Center manage the River Room and the north end of the Depot. He said it gives the Convention Center an attractive place to offer for events, particularly those who want to have outdoor activities.

At 12:30 p.m., Natchez Mayor Dan Gibson, other city officials, and representatives of the Natchez-Adams Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Natchez Alliance joined Warren Reuther, his wife, Nancy Reuther, who owns Monmouth, and Tipton to cut the ribbon on the completed River Room at the Depot.

Reuther also owns the company that operates the Natchez Convention Center and The Grand Hotel, which overlooks the river and is across the street from the Depot and River Room.

That room will be available to those with events and conventions in the Natchez Convention Center for outdoor events like fish fries and barbecues. The outdoor area, in a park-like setting overlooking the Mississippi River, will greatly enhance the offerings of The Natchez Grand and the Convention Center, all agreed.

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