Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Mississippi to Florida Blues Marker Ceremony

 

 

 

 

 

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=100688295274335080390.00043ac16963dc41feb11&ll=30.549012,-84.180357&spn=0.006597,0.00751&t=h&z=17

 

Hope you can join us!

 

Alex T. Thomas

Music Development, Program Manager

Mississippi Development Authority/Tourism

P.O. Box 849

Jackson, MS 39205-0849

Office: (601) 359-3297

Fax: (601) 359-5757

athomas@mississippi.org

 

 


Confidentiality Note: The Mississippi Development Authority (MDA) is committed to ensuring complete confidentiality of information for our customers. To this end, the information contained in this e-mail and/or document(s) attached is for the exclusive use by the individual named above and/or their organization and may contain confidential, privileged and non-disclosable information. If you are not the intended recipient, please refrain from reading, photocopying, distributing or otherwise using this e-mail or its contents in any way. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify me immediately. {MDA-2009}

Friday, October 29, 2010

Visiting journalists take tour of the Delta

CLEVELAND - The Delta State University Delta Center for Culture and Learning recently helped introduce over 90 professional journalists and journalism students to the Delta’s cultural heritage. The media professionals were attending a conference at the Magazine Innovation Center at the Meek School of Journalism and New Media at Ole Miss. The three day conference, which focused on the future of the magazine industry, was organized by Dr. Samir Husni, director of the Magazine Innovation Center. Delta Magazine and Delta Business Journal owner and publisher, Scott Coopwood (second from left, first row) was one of the sponsor's of the conference and greeted the group at the Shack Up Inn at Hopson before they moved on to Clarksdale for an evening at Ground Zero Blues Club. Magazine industry leaders from across the U.S., the Netherlands, and South America attended the conference. The Delta Center’s Luther Brown and Lee Aylward spoke to the visitors as they traveled on two coach buses.  

 

 

Friday, October 22, 2010

Waxhaw: MS Blues Trail Marker dedication for Otis Clay, 2pm

7th Annual Mississippi Delta Regional Blues Challenge

Saturday, October 23, 2010   Club Ebony-Indianola

http://www.highway61radio.com/?p=3007

 

Otis Clay – Mississippi Blues Trail Marker Unveiling

Friday, October 22, 2010   Performance at The Senator’s Place-Cleveland

http://www.highway61radio.com/?p=2984

 

 

 

 

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Delta State takes St. Andrews Episcopal School group on heritage tour

Delta State takes St. Andrews Episcopal School group on heritage tour

CLEVELAND - The Delta State University Delta Center for Culture and Learning recently provided a Delta heritage tour for a group from the St. Andrews Episcopal School in Jackson. Tour participants included faculty and students from St. Andrews as well as from Ghana and Zimbabwe. St. Andrews has an exchange program with the Hermann Geimer International College, a boarding high school in Tema, Ghana and each year, several students from St. Andrews travels to Ghana, and a group from Ghana travels to Jackson. Following their tour, the group headed to Shelby to tutor youth at the Shelby Middle School as part of a service learning project. St. Andrews visits the Delta annually.

 

 

Friday, October 15, 2010

Delta State's Delta Center provides heritage tour to first year nursing students

CLEVELAND - The Delta State University Delta Center for Culture and Learning recently provided a Delta heritage tour for first year nursing students of the Robert E. Smith School of Nursing. The tour included visits to Dockery Farms, civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer's grave, both in Ruleville, historic Mound Bayou, and the world famous Po' Monkey's Lounge in Merigold.  The tour was lead by the Delta Center's Luther Brown and Lee Aylward. 

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Central Mississippi Blues Society - Solo/Duo Winner

Jackson, MS - This past Monday night (October 4th) at Hal & Mal’s Chris Gill and Derrick Martin won the solo/duo blues challenge.  They will represent the Central Mississippi Blues Society at the 2011 International Blues Challenge in Memphis.  The CMBS Band Challenge is scheduled for Monday night, October 18th at Hal & Mal’s.  Interested bands should contact:  Peggy Brown 601.613.7377

The IBC is February 1-5.  More details:  www.blues.org

Cleveland, MS Octoberfest

 

 

Monday, October 4, 2010

Follow the Mississippi Bles Trail on Facebook

Join us today at:   http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jackson-MS/Mississippi-Blues-Trail/61559154874

Alex T. Thomas, Music Development, Program Manager, Mississippi Development Authority/Tourism, P.O. Box 849, Jackson, MS 39205-0849, Office: (601) 359-3297 , Fax: (601) 359-5757 , athomas@mississippi.org.

Photos: Out-of-state blues marker in Rockland, Maine.  Paul Benjamin - at the Maine marker unveiling this summer.   

Champion Jamz!

Club Ebony will host the 7th Annual Mississippi Delta Regional Blues Challenge on Saturday, October 23 in Indianola.  Two past winners in Indianola and the Memphis International Blues Challenge are pictured.  The young Homemade Jamz Blues Band from Tupelo, MS and Grady Champion from Canton, MS.  It is time for solo/duo and bands to enter the Indianola Challenge.

Saturday, September 25, 2010

7th Annual Mississippi Delta Regional Blues Challenge

Grady ChampionCanton, MS – Thank you Indianola Blues Society for the opportunity to compete in Memphis at the IBC.  This year has been wonderful.  The blues fans have been incredible.  Good luck with this year’s Challenge at Club Ebony and with every endeavor your group takes on.  Keep up the good work.  You’re the best!  Grady

Winner of the Indianola Challenge and the 2010 International Blues Challenge

Friday, September 24, 2010

Parchman Farm Blues Marker Ceremony

See map link below:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=100688295274335080390.00043ac16963dc41feb11&ll=33.917678,-90.496445&spn=0.008609,0.013304&t=h&z=17

Hope to see you there!

Alex T. Thomas

Music Development, Program Manager

Mississippi Development Authority/Tourism

 athomas@mississippi.org

 

 

Monday, September 13, 2010

Clarksdale's MR. TATER has passed away.....

MUSICAL PASSING   -   Hailed as one of the last Mississippi Delta street musicians and a favorite of visiting tourists from around the world, Foster Wiley a.k.a. "Mr Tater, The Music Maker" passed away early Friday morning, September 10, at the Methodist University Hospital in Memphis -- according to his brothers Joshua and Joe Wiley. Foster Wiley had been in the Intensive Care Unit for over a week with kidney and other issues.  Funeral arrangements, procession, reception/musical jam info:  www.cathead.biz/livemusic.html

 

  

 

 



Thursday, August 19, 2010

Piano woman - Eden Brent - USA Today pick....

USA Today picked ten intriguing music tracks listened to this past week…..

Eden Brent made the list with a track from her upcoming album - “Ain’t Got No Troubles” -

 to be officially released----September 7!

http://www.usatoday.com/life/music/reviews/2010-08-16-the-playlist17_ST_N.htm

More………… http://gardenandgun.com/article/delta-soul  ; http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129003332 ; http://www.shorefire.com/clients/ebrent/

 

 

 

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Catfish, R & B, and more....

Cleveland – Teach for America (TFA) participants got a taste of Delta hospitality on Friday, June 18, as they were treated to “Catfish on the Quad” on the Delta State University Quadrangle. Approximately 800 participants were joined by members of the community and Delta State faculty and staff for an evening of fun, food, and entertainment. Participants were treated to a dinner of southern fried catfish, and musical entertainment provided by local R&B band The Pearl Street Jumpers. High evening temperatures proved no deterrent as TFA members participated in numerous activities including three-way volleyball, a rock-climbing wall, jumbo basketball, sidewalk bowling, and much more, before dancing well into the evening. “It was wonderful to see the Teach for America members together with members of the campus and community for an evening of fun and fellowship,” said Dr. Michelle Roberts, vice president for University Relations at Delta State. “I have been at Delta State for over 20 years and I can’t recall the Quad being so full of people and activities.  Everyone seemed to have a wonderful time, despite the high temperatures. For many, this was their first taste of fried catfish and hushpuppies. Based on their positive comments, it won’t be their last.”  “Catfish on the Quad” concluded the first week of Teach for America’s Delta Institute, the first TFA training institute in a rural location. Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia, and Phoenix are the other Teach For America institute locations.

About Teach For America

Teach For America is the national corps of outstanding recent college graduates who commit to teach for two years in urban and rural public schools and become lifelong leaders in expanding educational opportunity. This fall, more than 8,200 corps members will be teaching in 39 regions across the country, while more than 20,000 Teach For America alumni continue working from inside and outside the field of education for the fundamental changes necessary to ensure educational excellence and equity. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org.   

 

Delta State holds summer heritage workshop for teachers

CLEVELAND - Forty teachers from across the United States recently participated in a Delta heritage workshop entitled “The Most Southern Place on Earth: Music, History and Culture of the Mississippi Delta,” funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities. The workshop was presented by the Delta State University Delta Center for Culture and Learning, and was led by Center staff Luther Brown and Lee Aylward. Participants sampled Delta foods, visited local museums, and listened to the Blues as they traveled throughout the Delta visiting sites in Greenville, Greenwood, Clarksdale and Memphis, with stops in between where significant events occurred. They discussed issues involving civil rights and political leadership, immigrants’ experiences in the Delta, the Blues, the great migration, agriculture, religious heritage, and the Great Flood of 1927, among other things. All of the teachers who participate in the summer workshop will present lessons on the Delta’s heritage in their classrooms back home. Photo: Workshop participants in front of the Flood Museum in Greenville

 

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Mississippi to Maine Blues Trail Marker - Thursday, July 8, 2010 at 3:00 PM in Rockland, Maine

Teach For America members take heritage tour of the Delta

The Delta State University Delta Center for Culture and Learning recently presented a heritage tour to 110 Teach for America members who are participating in the Delta training Institute being held on the Delta State campus. The group participated in a day-long tour that included stops in Cleveland, Dockery, Ruleville, and Mound Bayou, along with Po’ Monkey’s Lounge.

 

 

 

Bobby Whalen Takes the Stage!

Bluesman Bobby Whalen Performs at Museum

The B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center welcomes Indianola bluesman Bobby Whalen to the stage in Lucille’s, the Museum gift shop, on Friday, June 25 at noon. Whalen will perform various styles of blues and lead a discussion with his audience. Whalen has toured extensively in the state and collaborated on shows with many well known blues performers. His Ladies Choice Band performs frequently at festivals and clubs throughout Mississippi. Whalen has served as a presenting artist of the Mississippi Arts Commission, bringing music and visual art into the classroom. Bobby Whalen’s murals may be seen across the state, and his paintings are on display throughout the country in arts centers and galleries.

For more information, please contact: Erin Mulligan, B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center, emulligan@bbkingmuseum.org

 

 

Friday, June 18, 2010

Delta State takes students from Columbus High School on heritage tour of the Delta

Columbus High School's accelerated and advanced placement program recently visited the Mississippi Delta to learn about its rich cultural heritage.  The Delta State University Delta Center for Culture and Learning introduced the group to the Delta State campus and escorted them to Dockery Farms, the birthplace of the Blues; the grave of Civil Rights activist Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer; and the historic African American town of Mound Bayou.  Gayle Fortenberry third from right, back row, advance placement coordinator, arranged the trip.  Dr. Luther Brown and Lee Aylward of the Delta Center, kneeling, conducted the tour. 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Poster Signing Party

The Highway 61 Blues Festival Poster Signing will be held on Thursday, May 27 from 5:00 - 7:00 p.m. at the Highway 61 Blues Museum located at 307 N. Broad Street in Leland. Artist Cristen Barnard designed this year’s poster that honors Johnny Winter. She will be on hand to sign and number posters that night. Wine and hors d’oeuvres will be served. Ryan Moore of Cicero’s Restaurant will be serving his delicious fried catfish and pork tenderloin. Ellen Ann Johnson will be serving her many delicious dishes as well. William McGee, Pat Thomas, Eddie Cusic and T-Model Ford will provide the entertainment. At 7:30 p.m. the party will move to Lillo’s Restaurant for dancing to the music of Lillo’s legendary Thursday night band and dining. To reserve a poster call the Highway 61 Blues Museum at 662-686-7646. For reservations at Lillo’s call 662-686-4401.

                                                                                                                   

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Two Mississippi Teen Musicians Awarded Full Scholarships for Summer Study at Boston’s Renowned Berklee College of Music

Boston – Paula Thompson, from Clarksdale, and Calvin Bogar, from Jackson, will spend five weeks this summer in Boston, studying at the prestigious Berklee College of Music on full scholarships valued at $7,500 apiece.  They’ll join teens from all over the world for Berklee’s Five-Week Summer Performance Program.

The scholarships were awarded from the Berklee Mississippi Music Exchange program that develops opportunities to exchange education, music and culture between Berklee and the Mississippi Delta and other parts of the state.  This is the third year that Berklee has awarded summer scholarships to students in Mississippi who take part in programs at the Delta Blues Museum, in Clarksdale, and the Robert Johnson Blues Museum, in Crystal Springs.



From left: Berklee professor Lenny Stallworth, Paula Thompson, Delta Blues Museum Director Shelley Ritter, and Christopher Coleman, director of the Delta Blues Museum's gift shop.
Photo by Allen Bush.

Thompson is a student in the Delta Blues Museum's Arts & Education Program.  She has been singing since the age of 3, and made her stage debut at 6 in a family group called Blues Prodigy.  In addition to singing, she also plays the drums and bass guitar.  For her audition, she sang "Hurts So Bad," by Susan Tedeschi.  Thompson told the scholarship committee, comprised of Berklee and Delta Blues Museum personnel, that when she grows up she'd like to be a singer.  On the same day that she auditioned for the scholarship, she also celebrated her 15th birthday.


 



From left: Calvin Bogan and Steven Johnson.
Photo by Allen Bush

Steven Johnson, grandson of the legendary Robert Johnson, scouted Bogar for the scholarship.  The 19 year old has been playing the saxophone for six years, and is currently studying music at Hinds Community College in Utica.  Among his musical experiences are playing in church and in jazz and contemporary music groups.  He would like to be music teacher.  Bogar and Johnson met the Berklee committee in the historic Baptist Town region of Greenwood at Sylvester Hoover's Country Kitchen, and he serenaded them in front of the noted eatery, drawing community members who snapped photos and wished him good-luck.  

To read more about each recipient and the Berklee Mississippi Music Exchange, visit berkee-blogs.com.


Berklee College of Music, for over 65 years, has evolved to support its belief that the best way to prepare students for careers in music is through contemporary music education. The college was the first in the U.S. to teach jazz, the popular music of the time. It incorporated rock n' roll in the 1960s, created the world's first degree programs in film scoring, music synthesis, and songwriting, and, in recent years, added world music, hip-hop, electronica, and video game music to its curriculum. With a diverse student body representing over 70 countries, a music industry "who's who" of alumni that have received 175 Grammy Awards, Berklee is the world's premier learning lab for the music of today – and tomorrow.  In 2013, Berklee will open its first campus outside of Boston, Berklee Valencia, in Spain.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

CLARKSDALE CARAVAN MUSIC FEST

  • 4th annual, free music festival
  • Saturday, May 8, 2010
  • downtown Clarksdale, Mississippi

CAT HEAD DELTA BLUES & FOLK ART (252 Delta Ave.) - FREE!
10am till:  All Night Long Blues Band, La La, Mary Ann "Action" Jackson.

ROCK & BLUES MUSEUM (113 E. 2nd St.) - FREE!

2pm till:  Theo D "The Boogieman," Selwyn Cooper, Bob Walters, Black Smoke, Little Bobby & the Storm and more.

 

RELATED NIGHTTIME MUSIC IN CLARKSDALE (cover charges apply):

Ground Zero Blues Club (Reba Russell), Red's Lounge, Tricia's and more!

 

FESTIVAL MERCHANDISE:

Two collectible show poster designs available exclusively at Cat Head store and Rock & Blues Museum.

 

MORE INFO: website www.blues2rock.com and www.cathead.biz

 

Also, don't miss the Clarksdale Caravan Music Fest fundraiser this Thursday night (4/29) at the Rock & Blues Museum from 5pm-9pm.

 

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Bluesman dies....

Sad news:

Mississippi Slim died this morning (Wednesday, April 14, 2010) around 7 am at Delta Regional Medical Center (Greenville, MS) of natural causes.

 

Monday, April 12, 2010

Chris Thomas King to perform at Delta State University

Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz

CLEVELAND— The acclaimed Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz and Grammy winning blues artist Chris Thomas King, will perform a Sunday matinee concert on April 18, at 2 p.m. in the Delta and Pine Land Theatre of the Bologna Performing Arts Center on the Delta State campus. Hollywood movie star Chris Thomas King will join Grammy-nominated jazz saxophonist Antonio Hart,  Charlie Parker Institute Director and vocalist Lisa Henry; past Wynton Marsalis Quartet pianist Richard Johnson; past Terrence Blanchard Quintet bassist Derek Nievergelt; and Esperanza Spalding’s drummer, Otis Brown, III for the Sunday matinee performance.  The show will feature musicians who have worked with everyone from Coldplay to recent Grammy Album of the Year winner Herbie Hancock. Chris Thomas King is a Grammy-Award Winning Artist who acted in two Oscar-winning films, Ray (as Lowell Fulson) and O Brother, Where Art Thou? (as Tommy Johnson). Also in attendance will be Thelonious Monk’s son and chairman of the board of the Monk Institute, TS Monk.The program is a celebration of African American music in DSU’s Year of the Arts, and is part of the Monk Institute’s return to the Mississippi Delta during its annual "The Blues and Jazz - Two American Classics" educational outreach tour (www.thebluesandjazz.org). The April 19 and 20th Informance tour includes visits to public schools in Cleveland and Ruleville.Funding for the entire tour was provided by Carolyn and Bill Powers, in memory of Mrs. Powers' grandparents, Joe Rice Dockery and Keith Dockery McLean, the late owners of Dockery Farms. Of Dockery Farms and the blues, B.B. King has said, "You might say, it all started right here.”

 

WROX Blues Marker - Clarksdale, MS

 

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Delta State's Delta Center donates heritage tour for worthy cause

The Delta State University Delta Center for Culture and Learning recently donated a Delta heritage tour to the Cleveland Junior Auxiliary Children’s Benefit Ball Silent Auction.  The tour was purchased by Beverly McWilliams of Cleveland and conducted by Lee Aylward of the Delta Center.  Photo: Tour participants from left-right, Lenora Lott of Greenwood, Maggie Spitz of Cleveland, and Sam Lott of Greenwood at Po’ Monkey’s Lounge in Merigold. 

 

MS Blues Trail-WROX Blues Marker-Clarksdale, MS

WROX Radio Station at 257 Delta Avenue in Clarksdale will be added to the Mississippi Blues Trail with its marker unveiling on Friday, April 16th at 12 noon.  WROX-AM is the oldest radio station in Northwest Mississippi.  WROX began operation on June 2, 1944, broadcasting from 321 Delta Avenue in downtown Clarksdale.  In 1946, the station moved to 257 Delta Avenue, where it remained until 1953.  That location now houses the WROX Museum.

Map link:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&ie=UTF8&t=h&msa=0&msid=100688295274335080390.00043ac16963dc41feb11&ll=34.201554,-90.574722&spn=0.007303,0.007864&z=17

 

Alex T. Thomas

Music Development, Program Manager

Mississippi Development Authority/Tourism

P.O. Box 849

Jackson, MS 39205-0849

Office: (601) 359-3297

Fax: (601) 359-5757

athomas@mississippi.org

 

 

 

Brown and Clark at MDOT Awards Celebration

Dr. Luther Brown, director of the Delta State Delta Center for Culture and Learning, and Wanda Clark, creative director of Hammons and Associates of Greenwood, presented the keynote speech at the Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) Outstanding Achievement Awards March 23 in Jackson.  The theme of this year's celebration was " Honoring the Blues in the Place Where it All Began:  The Mississippi Blues Trail."  The event honored MDOT employees throughout the state who have been recognized by their supervisors and peers for their superior performance.  Clark serves as Project Director for the Blues Trail and Dr. Brown serves as Project Engineer for those parts of the Trail that are funded by MDOT. They appeared as representatives of the Mississippi Blues Commission, which along with the Mississippi Development Authority/Tourism Division oversees and helps fund the Trail.  The Mississippi Blues Trail began in December of 2006, and today has 100 interpretive displays scattered across the state, with four more in other states.  The Trail has received major financial support from MDOT, as well as major support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mississippi Development Authority, and local Chambers of Commerce and Convention and Visitor's Bureaus.  The Trail web site has now received visits from 88 countries around the world, and over half a million web pages worldwide include the term "Mississippi Blues Trail."  The official Blues Trail web site is www.msbluestrail.org.

 

DSU's Delta Center hosts Swiss blues society members

CLEVELAND―The Delta State University Delta Center for Culture and Learning introduced the Delta’s heritage to eight visitors from Switzerland last week.  The group was organized by Donatella Rasi of Ganras Adventure Travel.  Most members were also involved in the “Blues Crew Oberschan” which is a Swiss blues society.  They spent ten days in the Delta, visiting Tunica, Clarksdale, Cleveland, Shaw, Leland, Greenville, Greenwood, and Indianola, as well as Memphis.  The group included several blues musicians.  They performed in Indianola at Club Ebony Sunday night, April 4 at the “Mary Shepard Day” celebration.

 

 

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Northwest Academy visits the Delta

Northwest Academy visits the Delta

CLEVELAND―Twenty-five students and four faculty members from the Northwest Academy of Law in St. Louis, Mo., visited Delta State University last week.  They were hosted by the Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State and participated in a heritage tour encompassing Cleveland, Mound Bayou, Ruleville, Indianola, and Greenwood.  Although the group was housed on the campus of Delta State University, they also visited other universities which included the University of Mississippi, the University of Memphis, Mississippi Valley State University and Jackson State University.  The Northwest Academy of Law is a public high school that emphasizes a pre-law curriculum. This tour was supported by Gear Up, a federal program that encourages high school students to attend college.  The group was lead by Susan Lampros, who first visited the Delta last summer when she participated in a workshop presented by the Delta Center

 

               

 

 

 

Friday, March 12, 2010

Dockery Farms Foundation receives Save America’s Treasures Grant

CLEVELAND�The Dockery Farms Foundation is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a Save America's Treasures Grant through the National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior. 

These funds will enable the Foundation to undertake the restoration of several buildings at the Dockery Farms Historic Site, beginning immediately with the Dockery Service Station.  Hampton Tucker, Chief of the Historic Preservation Grants Division National Park Services states, "The National Park Service is pleased to participate in the preservation of Dockery Farms.  This grant through the Save America's Treasures program will allow all Americans to experience the birthplace of one of our great music traditions for years to come.  Innovative public/private partnerships like this are the foundation of preservation of this country's rich and diverse heritage."

"We are delighted to have the National Park Service and Save America's Treasures as our partners in preserving the buildings at Dockery," said William Lester, Delta State University professor emeritus of art and executive director of the Dockery Farms Foundation.  "This Save America's Treasures grant and the matching support we have received from Bill and Carolyn Powers and others has enabled us to begin this urgently needed work."

Dockery Farms was established in 1895 by Will Dockery to cultivate cotton.  By the mid 1920's, the community at Dockery had grown to encompass several thousand people.  At one time Dockery had its own infirmary, post office, commissary, rail road (the "Pea Vine") and even its own currency.  Dockery was home to a number of Blues pioneers, among them Henry Sloan, Charley Patton, Willie Brown, Tommy Johnson, and Roebuck "Pop" Staples.  It was at Dockery that these musicians lived and learned from one another.  They played in the boarding houses and on the commissary steps at Dockery.  In turn they left Dockery and traveled to the North to record. Some of them later returned to Dockery. Their songs influenced the development of popular music all over the world. The extraordinary musical collaboration that happened at Dockery in the early 20th century has made the property a beacon for music fans and scholars from all over the world.  The Dockery Farms Historic Site was added to the National Register of Historic Places with National Significance in 2006 and to the Mississippi Blues Trail in 2008.  The old service station was built in the 1940's, long after Will Dockery's death.  Nonetheless, it will play an important role in the Foundation's preservation and public education plans for Dockery Farms.  The restored and converted service station will include a classroom for school field trips and other visitor programs, a small cafĂ©, and the offices for the Dockery Farms Foundation. The Service Station Restoration Project, which is being conducted by Cleveland Lumber Company, is expected to be completed in four to six months.

Photo:  William Lester, executive director of the Dockery Farms Foundation, and Prentis Hugles, of Cleveland Lumber Company, display the original Dockery Service Station sign that will be restored as part of The Dockery Service Station Restoration Project.

 

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Upcoming Mississippi Blues Trail Marker Ceremonies

Mississippi Joe Callicott Thursday, March 11, 2010 @ 10:00 AM Hernando, MS  

Ishmon Bracey Monday, April 5, 2010 TBD Jackson, MS

WROX Radio Station Friday, April 16, 2010 @ 12 Noon Clarksdale, MS

Turner Drug Store Saturday, May 15, 2010 TBD Belzoni, MS

Mississippi to Louisiana Delta Saturday, May 22, 2010 TBD Ferriday, LA

Biloxi Blues (Jelly Roll Morton) Thursday, May 27, 2010 11:30 AM Biloxi, MS

Meridian Musicians June 19, 2010 TBD Meridian, MS

Ike Turner August 6, 2010 TBD Clarksdale, MS

www.msbluestrail.org

Alex T. Thomas

Music Development, Program Manager

Mississippi Development Authority/Tourism

P.O. Box 849

Jackson, MS 39205-0849

Office: (601) 359-3297

Fax: (601) 359-5757

athomas@mississippi.org