Summary of the fourteenth Meeting, May 27, 2004

Blues Highway Association

Bottleneck Blues Bar, Ameristar Casino, Vicksburg, Mississippi

 

Special thanks to the folks at the Ameristar Casino for providing a great venue for the meting and a wonderful lunch afterwards.  Annie Mitchell and Kelly Jeffers represented Ameristar in fine form.  Thanks.

 

Email announcements of the meeting were mailed to over 220 people.  Twenty-five people signed the attendance list.

 

The meeting began at 11am, and lasted about an hour.  Following the meeting, almost everyone stayed for lunch and further discussion, and things broke up about 1:15.

 

  • Roger Stolle of Cat Head Delta Blues and Folk Art handed out copies of the newest King Biscuit Time and The Original Blues Festival Guide, which lists festivals all over the US.  He also handed out a flier promoting all the Memorial Day Weekend events in Clarksdale.  This weekend will see many live performances and the complete list is attached here.  Roger also announced a presentation on Charley Patton, to be held at The Delta Blues Museum on 6/11 from 1-5. 
  • Beth Lyon sent in a reminder of the BB King Homecoming on June 11, 2004.  BB King’s web page gives these details: “You can get the tickets to the June 11th show in advance by sending a check and your mailing address to the Indianola Chamber of Commerce. The tickets are $5 per person in advance and $10 after June 2nd. You can also purchase the tickets at the Fletcher Park on the day of the show. The event starts at 5 p.m. For more information please contact the Indianola Chamber of Commerce at 662-887-4454 or visit their website www.indianolams.org.”.
  • Janet Webb and Carol Marble sent details on upcoming events in Indianola surrounding the Down Home Blues and Heritage Day, Thursday, June 10th.  This new effort has a great line-up and bills itself as “A Family Affair.”  Full Details are available here.
  • Marcia Weaver promoted Juke Blues Magazine, which can be purchased by emailing her.  She also reminded us about the Bach to Blues events at Trinity Lutheran Church in Jackson every third Sunday of each month at 6pm.  Full details are available at www.bachtoblues.org.
  • Alex Thomas reported on the Living Blues issue that is dedicated to the Blues in Mississippi today.  Alex handed out copies, and said that his goal is to distribute 5,000 copies at the Chicago Blues Festival.  We should all take great pride in this issue.  Developing such an issue was one of the four benchmarks that our group first identified about 18 months ago, back when Scott Barretta attended our very first meeting.  Thanks to MS Tourism and also The Ameristar Casino for supporting Living Blues Magazine.
  • Alex also reported on the Mississippi Hills National Heritage Area conference that will be held in Oxford this June 9-11.  Everyone in our group is invited to attend, and this would be a great opportunity for those who could not attend our Share Your Heritage Workshop last August to hear speakers who really know how to build National Heritage Areas.  Full details are available here. Finally, Alex reported on the Unsettling Memories conference to be held at Jackson State University this coming June 17-20, with an optional Delta Civil Rights history tour on June 21. 
  • Bruce Reid described the large format paper maps that are used by the Audubon Great River Birding Trail.  Copies are available for inspection at my office.  These maps may be a good model for anyone thinking of producing Blues or heritage maps for the Delta.  Bruce also talked about the Strawberry Plains Hummingbird Festival.  As last year, The Dixie Hummingbirds will provide music, probably in the Rust College auditorium on September 11. 
  • Michael Davis was one of two representatives of The Vicksburg Blues Society.  He reminded us that they are seeking new Blues talent.  See their web page for details on the competition.  He also reminded us that the Bottleneck Blues Bar of the Ameristar Casino has an open mike Blues night every first Tuesday. 

 

The remainder of our meeting was given over to a discussion of The Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area.  I briefly reviewed the community development and economic development aspects of establishing this entity.  I also reviewed the history of our own involvement in the process and the current status of the issue.  Discussion ensued, and these points were made:

1)  There are some people who do not understand that establishment of a Heritage Area does not impose new regulations on their land ownership or land use.

2)  It is absolutely critical that our Congressmen and Senators all know that there is widespread support for the Delta Heritage Area, and that all of our representatives are involved and engaged at the same time.

 

The group decided that the next steps we need to take include:

1)  Meeting with representatives of Congressman Thompson’s and Senator Lott’s and Cochran’s offices to brief them all on our progress.

2)  Presentation of a series of community meetings, publicized through local churches, to generate further support and answer questions.

3)  Development of a portfolio of supportive letters from all of the diverse organizations that our membership now includes.

 

This diversity was well revealed at our meeting.  Along with The Blues Foundation, The Greenwood Blues Heritage Museum, and The Vicksburg Blues Society, (as well as several other Blues groups and enthusiasts), we had representatives from The Museum of the Southern Jewish Experience, National Audubon Society, The Mississippi Heritage Trust, Mississippi Tourism Authority, several Convention and Visitor’s Bureaus and Chambers of Commerce, various academics, and the Vicksburg Post.

 

Thanks to all for another good meeting that has led to concrete steps to be take over the course of the Summer.

 

Additional information is always available at www.blueshighway.org/bluesnews.htm