Delta State's Delta Center to host Gear Up Delta Heritage camps during the summer

Rising eighth graders across Mississippi will have the opportunity to discover the rich heritage of the Mississippi Delta during a series of camps at Delta State University in Cleveland, MS this summer.

 

The Mississippi Delta Arts & Heritage Summer Experience, now in its fifth year, combines heritage workshops and arts instruction to increase awareness of the Delta’s history and culture among youth.  The program is divided into three residential camps, each serving 20 students and exploring a different aspect of the Delta: the Blues, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Mississippi River.

 

Delta State’s Delta Center for Culture and Learning received a $25,000 grant from Gear Up Mississippi to run the camps.  The arts component of the camp is led by Camp Director Pat Brown, who also teaches in the Delta State Art Department.

 

The first camp session will be May 31 to June 5. Campers will immerse themselves in issues related to the Mississippi River.  They will visit the Tunica River Park, learn about the Flood of 1927, and get a taste of local ethnic cuisines and construct exciting art projects.

 

The second camp will take place June 21 to June 26, and will focus on the Blues.  Campers will experience live performances by local musicians as well as visit the B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola and the Highway 61 Blues Museum in Leland. Campers will learn about how the Blues grew out of the Mississippi Delta.

 

The third camp, which will examine civil rights issues, is scheduled for June 28 to July 3.  The week will include a fieldtrip to the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis as well as an intensive focus on local events and leaders of the grassroots movement in the Delta.

 

Participants must attend schools sponsored by Gear Up Mississippi.  A division of the Mississippi Institutes of Higher Learning, Gear Up promotes higher education to students in low-income school districts throughout the state.

 

For more information, contact the Delta Center for Culture and Learning at (662) 846-4311 or e-mail LaKendra V. Jones at ljones@deltastate.edu.

 

Grady Champion Revue at the 930 Blues Club & Cafe

 

 

Mississippi Blues Trail Marker Ceremony "Documenting the Blues"

 

308 Blues Club & Cafe - Friday, February 20

A movie screening of The Way of War starring Cuba Gooding, Jr. featuring Bill “Howl-N-Madd” Perry of Abbeville, MS will be in Indianola.  The location is 308 Blues Club & Café on Friday, February 20 with doors opening at 7pm.  A CD Release Party for Alphonso Sanders’ new CD- “Mississippi Influences” will happen that night, also.  Sanders recently won 2^nd Place SOLO/DUO at the 2009 International Blues Challenge in Memphis www.blues.org .  For all the details on this movie screening and CD release party see:  www.bluessource.com/readnews.php?id=137 .

6th Annual Living Blues Symposium

This year’s Living Blues Symposium in Oxford, MS will be February 26-27.  It was deliberately scheduled in tandem with gospel great Mavis Staples’ appearance at the Ford Center on Friday, February 27.  Thacker Mountain Radio will have a special blues theme on Thursday.  Following a screening of M for Mississippi, there will be a discussion about documenting the blues with Roger Stolle and others.  A “Highway 61 Blues Party” is scheduled at the Powerhouse.  A Mississippi Blues Trail Marker dedication will take place outside Barnard Observatory.  See more about the schedule and presenters at Scott Barretta’s site – www.highway61radio.com .  Updates will continue to be posted on this site as available.

Blues on Walnut Street

Friday, March 6 a benefit for the Highway 61 Blues Museum will be held at the Walnut Street Blues Bar in Greenville, MS. The event time is 7pm until 2am. Performers for the night include: Pat Thomas, Eddie Cusic, T-Model Ford, The Rob Mortimer Band, The Mayhem String Band, and The Walnut Street Allstars. Admission is a $5 donation that goes to support the blues museum. Thanks to Danny & Sharon Peeples for sponsoring this annual event. See more on the Highway 61 Blues Museum at http://www.highway61blues.com/ .

IBC Finals

L.C. Ulmer and Chase Holifield were a hit at the Orpheum in the Solo Finals of the 25th Annual International Blues Challenge. Even though they did not place, they commanded a standing ovation. They were one of six Solo/Duo entrants making it to the finals in a field of contestants from all over the world this weekend in Memphis.

Homemade Jamz Blues Band from Tupelo opened the weekend performing at the New Daisy Theatre Wednesday night. This group won 2nd Place Band in 2007 representing the Mississippi Delta Blues Society of Indianola. Eden Brent from Greenville performed in the Orpheum Lobby Saturday opening the finals. She won 1st Place Solo in 2006 representing the Indianola Blues Society.

Another Mississippi blues society now joins the list with a win. Rosedale's Crossroads Blues Society of Mississippi won 2nd Place Solo/Duo with Alphonso Sanders and Richard Johnson. Their original songs with keyboard, trumpet, and saxophone accompaniment were most impressive. Three Mississippi bands competed in the semi-finals on Thursday and Friday
nights. The Grady Champion Revue from Canton represented Indianola's blues society. Mark "The Muleman" Massey represented the Rosedale blues society. Stevie J & the Blues Eruption from Jackson represented the Central Mississippi Blues Society.