The Mississippi Delta heat didn’t stop festival goers from making their way to the Queen City this weekend to get a taste of the blues.
The 42nd annual Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage Festival drew about 10,000 people to the Washington County Convention Center fairgrounds Saturday.
Wisconsin resident Angel Swan said she has been coming to this blues festival since its inception.
“We love this festival. Every year we come down, we come two buses deep to come and enjoy this festival,” Swan said.
Dressed in an all vibrant pink outfit and cowboy boots to match, Swan dipped and turned and walked through the crowd fans, showing them “how they do it in Wisconsin.”
Dr. Sade Turnipseed, assistant professor of History at Mississippi Valley State University, said she moved to the Delta to specifically work on this festival as the cultural arts director.
“Although I’m no longer the cultural arts director, just being here makes me fall in love with the blues all over again,” Turnipseed said. “I really have a special place in my heart for the Mississippi Delta.”
Father Tom Mullally, of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, said he was looking forward to hearing one of his favorite zydeco bands perform, Geno Delafose and French Rockin’ Boogie.
“It is a great festival. I look forward to hearing the music, especially the zydeco music,” Mullally said.
First time festival goers Oliver Williams, Tony Morris and April Williams, all of St. Louis, said they will be making an effort to come every year from now on.
“What you see here is peace and tranquility. Everyone of different races coming together and loving on one another, listening to good music and having a good time,” Morris said.
Chiming in, Oliver said, “So far, I must say I love this festival and everything that is attached to it.”
As Morris, Oliver and April danced up and down the blocked off street during the festival, they waved at everyone they saw, took pictures with the people they met.
With a smile on her face, Williams said, “This is my first time back, and you can best believe, we’re coming back.”
As Greenville native Sylvester Washington took off his hat and wiped sweat from his forehead, he showed fellow fans from all around how to ‘juke’ like the people of Delta.
“I love to juke, dance and just have a good time,” Washington said. “This is what you supposed to do at an event like this, which is dance and make memories.”
St. Louis resident Lynn Murphy said she’s been coming to this festival for the last 10 years.
“I love the atmosphere, the fun and everything else,” Murphy said. “Since coming to this festival, I’ve met people from Brazil. It gets better and better each year.”
Dancing in the crowd, Murphy grabbed the hands of a few people along the way to dance with her, even instructing some on how to do her version of the two step.
As performer Sweet Jones took to the stage and sang her rendition of Prince’s “Purple Rain,” the crowd soaked it in, swaying and dancing to the beat of the song.
Sitting backstage and sipping from a bottle of water after her performance, Jones said it’s always a blessing to come to Greenville for this historic festival.
“I feel good right now and I’m glad the crowd enjoyed it,” Jones said, referring to the adrenaline pumping after walking off stage. “I always long for a call from Greenville telling me to come back again to perform.”
The festival, which is put on by Mississippi Action for Community Education (MACE), is the longest running blues festival in the world.
Committee volunteer Chauncey Wright said this year’s festival went “very well.”
“The access to the festival, as far as logistics, went well. The volunteers and artists did very well. We had no hiccups with sound. The weather cooperated with us. The vendors had an opportunity to sell their products. We had over a 100 RVs there, which is a big plus. The Washington County Sheriff Department did a great job because we had no accidents and they assisted well with traffic flow,” Wright said.
Wright said he wants to thank the various people who played a part in making this year’s festival a success.
“We want to express a thank you to MACE and their board of directors, the volunteers, Congressman Bennie Thompson, the president of the Washington County Board of Supervisors, Carl Mcgee, Mayor Errick Simmons and Washington County Convention and Visitor Bureau, their staff and board members, who were all in attendance,” he said. “We’re looking forward to next year.”
