Fw: At the Crossroads: Fourth Annual Statewide Folk and Traditional Arts Conference
Ricky Stevens
rick
> At The Crossroads:
> Exploring Mississippi's Cultural Traditions
> in the Birthplace of the Blues
>
> Fourth Annual Statewide Folk and Traditional Arts Conference
> May 9-11, 2003, Clarksdale Mississippi
> Presented by the Mississippi Arts Commission
> Co-sponsored by the Mississippi Folklife Association
>
>
> Friday, May 9
>
> 7:30 - 8:30 p.m. Registration Open
>
> 1:00 - 4:30 p.m. Exploring Clarksdale and Coahoma and West Tallahatchie
> Counties
> (Optional Pre-conference Field Trip) Come early for this pre-conference
tour
> conducted by John Ruskey, local artist/musician/and owner of the Quapaw
> Canoe Company. Ruskey will lead us on a geographic/historic tour of
Coahoma
> & West Tallahatchie counties including Stovall Plantation (where Muddy
> Waters lived), the Stovall Cotton Gin, Old River (where Hernando DeSoto
> might have first viewed the Mississippi River), Friars Point (home of
Conway
> Twitty and the Rev. C. L. Franklin, the North Delta Museum), Montezuma
> Island, Moon Lake, and Yazoo Pass (through which General U. S. Grant
> attempted to sneak up on Vicksburg in the winter of l863), Hopson
Plantation
> (first mechanized cotton picker, "Shack-up Inn"), and Tutwiler (where W.
C.
> Handy first heard the blues while waiting for a train). The tour will
> include rural churches, country juke joints, country stores, cotton gins,
> winter wheat, bayous, backwaters, canebrakes, and a pristine landing on
the
> Mississippi River. (Please note this is an optional event requiring an
> additional fee. See registration form.)
>
> 6:00-7:15 p.m. Pre-Conference Dining
> Meet in the lobby at the Comfort Inn to form groups for dinner (optional).
> Participants will pay their own way to dinner at their choice of local
> restaurants.
>
> 7:30 - 10:00 p.m. Opening Session
> Drumming Workshop at Cat Head Delta Blues and Folk Art Store (Conference
> Registration will be open 7:30-8:30 p.m.). The conference opens with an
> informal gathering at Cat Head Delta Blues and Folk Art, 252 Delta Avenue
in
> downtown Clarksdale. Owned by Roger and Jennifer Stolle, Cat Head is "not
> just a book store, but it's about blues, folk art, Mississippi, all those
> kinds of things - a cross section of what's unique about Mississippi."
> Charles "Wsir" Johnson will start the evening by conducting an African
> drumming workshop. Johnson, of Tupelo, is a multi-talented artist who
> performs in the spirit of the "Griot", the African storyteller, musician,
> and chronicler of principals and values. He will provide an overview of
the
> instruments he plays and will lead participants in a drumming session. No
> experience required and instruments will be provided. All are encouraged
to
> participate.
>
> Saturday, May 10
> Meeting Site: Clarksdale Station, Blues Alley Clarksdale Station is the
> recently renovated meeting space located in the building that formerly
> housed the old passenger depot for the Illinois Central Railroad. Situated
> in downtown Clarksdale in Blues Alley, and about a hundred yards from the
> Delta Blues Museum, the Station is extremely significant to the history of
> the blues. This is where many famous blues musicians such as Muddy Waters
> bought their tickets to fame and boarded the train to Chicago, seeking
jobs
> and a potential career in music.
>
> 8:30 - 9:00 a.m. Registration and Coffee
>
> 9:00 - 10:00 a.m. Documenting Northeast Mississippi's Music Traditions
> During the past year, the Arts Commission and The Center of the Study of
> Southern Culture at the University of Mississippi have been working
together
> to gather information on the traditional musicians and music events of
> northeastern Mississippi, a much under-documented region of the state.
> Project coordinator Wiley Prewitt will provide an overview of the project
> and present information on some of the unique musicians and events he has
> encountered.
>
> 10:15 - 11:45 a.m. State of the State Folklife Association
> Annual business meeting of the Mississippi Folklife Association, the
> statewide organization that promotes the identification, growth,
> conservation, celebration, study, and dissemination of traditional arts
and
> cultures in Mississippi, to plan their work for the coming year.
> Participants are encouraged to get involved with the association to help
> promote and preserve Mississippi's traditional arts. The meeting will
> include the election of officers for 2003-2004.
>
> 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. Box lunch at Clarksdale Station
>
> 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. Ten Things You Should Know Before Doing a Festival
> Festivals are one of the most popular ways that folk culture is presented
to
> a wide audience, but they can be difficult to start and keep going.
> Louisiana Folklife Festival Director Mike Luster will give an overview of
> the practical matters that you need to keep in mind and the potential
> pitfalls to avoid when starting a festival.
>
> 3:00 - 4:30 p.m. Delta Blues Museum and Blues Alley
> The Delta Blues Museum is situated in a circa 1918 brick building that
> formerly served as the Yazoo and Mississippi River Valley Railroad Depot,
> and later the Illinois Central Railroad Freight Depot. The building has
been
> totally rehabilitated to serve the Clarksdale community and the world of
> blues music. The exhibits inform visitors about the culture and people of
> the blues with photos, instruments, written word, and local artifacts. As
> visitors walk through the galleries, the sounds of Muddy Waters, Robert
> Johnson, and John Lee Hooker fill the room. Mae Smith, Museum staff
member,
> will provide an overview of museum and direct our tour.
>
> 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. Free Time
> Tour Blues Alley and other neighboring blues related or other cultural
sites
> in downtown Clarksdale.
>
> 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. Lebanese Dinner at Rest Haven Restaurant
> Rest Haven Restaurant, owned by Chafik and Louise Chamoun, has been a
> Lebanese tradition in
>
> Clarksdale since 1947. Located on Highway 61, it attracts visitors from
> around the world, from Tennessee Williams scholars to Delta blues lovers.
> Lebanese people began immigrating to Mississippi in the 1880s. To a great
> extent, the Lebanese community has assimilated into the American culture.
> Though clothing and language may have changed, traditional Lebanese foods,
> made with cracked wheat, parsley, and grape leaves are still popular.
We'all
> meet there at 6:30 p.m. to enjoy a menu that will include kibbie and
cabbage
> rolls, stuffed grape leaves, taboullah, meat pies, baklava, and more.
>
> 9:00 p.m. - ? Blues Club Crawl
> Meet in the lobby of the Comfort Inn to begin an evening of experiencing
> some of the best blues music and musicians in the region.
>
> Sunday, May 11
> Meeting Site: Comfort Inn Meeting Room
>
> 9:00 - 10:30 a.m. Junior's Juke Joint Adventures
> Junior Doughty is a Louisiana-based cultural anthropologist who has
created
> a unique website that has attracted attention from throughout the world.
> Doughty explores the blues culture of Mississippi and Louisiana and
presents
> detailed reports on his trips on "Junior's Juke Joint,' his self-produced
> website. He will discuss the evolution of the site and might also provide
> some times on how to replicate his "high-tech primitive" camping
techniques
> that he utilizes on his trips through the Delta. Check him out before the
> conference at www.deltablues.net.
>
> 11:00 - 12:30 p.m. Services at Bell Grove Missionary Baptist Church in
> Clarksdale (closing activity)
> Reverend Willie Morganfield has been pastor of Bell Grove Missionary
Baptist
> Church since 1975. A well known gospel singer who performed with the New
> Orleans Chosen Five and the Kings of Harmony and later a soloist who
> released several hit recordings in the 1950s and 1960s, Reverend
Morganfield
> accepted the call to the ministry in the 1960s and has made preaching his
> priority since that time. His experience as a musician still comes through
> in the rhythms and verbal phrasing of his sermons and he has gained a
> national reputation for his preaching skills. Panny Mayfield, of Coahoma
> Community College in Clarksdale, will take us to Rev. Morganfield's church
> for this Mother's Day Sunday morning service.
>
>
> Scholarships
> The Arts Commission will be offering a limited number of conference
> scholarships (providing registration only) to fulltime students involved
in
> the study of folk and traditional culture. For information on how to
apply,
> please contact Larry Morrisey at 601-359-6036 or
morr...@arts.state.ms.us.
>
> Lodging
> The Comfort Inn is offering rooms to conference attendees at a reduced
rate
> of $44.95 per night (single or double). This includes breakfast.
Conference
> attendees must make their own reservations by calling the hotel at 662-
> 627-5122. Ask for the Mississippi Folklife Conference rate. The Comfort
Inn
> is located at 818 South State Street in Clarksdale. Other national chain
> hotels located in the Clarksdale area include: Hampton Inn, 662-627-9292
and
> Days Inn, 662-624-4391. Two locally owned hotel/motels are: Plantation
Inn,
> 662-624-6541, and Southern Inn, 662-624-6558. Other accommodations are
> listed on the Clarksdale website at www.clarksdale.com/tourism.
>
>
>
> Registration
> Please complete this sheet and return it to the address below with your
> check or money order (sorry, we are unable to process credit card
payments).
> . Conference Registration Fee $55.00 . Pre-Conference Tour (optional)
$15.00
>
> Total enclosed $_______________
>
> Name_______________________________________________________________
>
> Organization (if
> applicable)_________________________________________________
>
> Address_________________________ City____________________ State___
Zip_____
>
> Phone________________ E-mail__________________________________________
>
> Please mail to:
> Mississippi Arts Commission
> Attention: Larry Morrisey
> 239 North Lamar Street, Suite 207
> Jackson, MS 39201
>
>
>
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