Huge Crowd Expected at the Blue Front Cafe for the 2011 Bentonia Blues Festival in June

Thousands of fans will again make their way to the birthplace of the unique Bentonia style of blues in Bentonia, Mississippi at the world famous Blue Front Cafe, Saturday, June 18th 2011.

Bentonia, MS, March 09, 2011--On Saturday, June 18, 2011, downtown Bentonia, Mississippi, a community with a population of about 500, will swell to an estimated 10,000, all coming to participate in an annual celebration of the unique country style of blues referred to as the Bentonia School. With Free admission, live gospel music starting at 9 a.m., activities and games for families and children, arts & crafts, food and more, this is sure to be an event everyone can enjoy.

The blues stage will kick off at 1 pm, including live performances from Big Joe Shelton, Terry "Harmonica" Bean, Mark "Muleman" Massey, Bentonia's own Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, Kenny Brown Band, Fearless Four, Dexter Allen ft. Tonya Youngblood, the Jarekus Singleton Band, Johnny Rawls, and national recording artist T.K. Soul.

The festival, founded in 1972 by Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, is one of the oldest blues festivals in the state of Mississippi. With Bentonia Blues fans coming from as far away as Japan, England, Norway, Canada, and all corners of the United States, the festival has become a favorite for visitors nationally and internationally.

Jimmy “Duck” Holmes is the last living practitioner of the famed Bentonia blues style made famous by Skip James and Jack Owens. Holmes, who studied directly under Jack Owens, is also the owner of the legendary Blue Front Cafe, Mississippi's oldest juke joint and the location of the annual Bentonia Blues Festival. He will delight audiences once again on the blues stage this June.

“I've never seen anything like it,” says Holmes. “In 2007 we had about 2000 here for the festival, but in the last couple years it has really grown. That's just amazing to me. I'm thrilled to know that my music and this festival is helping to keep the Bentonia style of blues alive.”

Yazoo County Convention & Visitors Bureau is seeking help from the community in being able to continue to provide this incredible event. “This event showcases our southern hospitality as well as our unique Yazoo County culture that brings travelers from across the globe to our little corner of the Mississippi Delta,” says Executive Director of the CVB, Tonja Ray-Smith. “But, it wouldn't be possible without our sponsors and volunteers.”

For those interested in volunteering and/or sponsoring, call the Yazoo County CVB at (662) 746-1815 or visit www.yazoo.org. And, a festival just isn’t a festival without food or arts & crafts vendors. To be considered, contact the Town Hall of Bentonia, MS at (662) 755-2281.

To keep up with the latest developments of the festival, become a fan of the Bentonia Blues Festival on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BentoniaBluesFestival

Yazoo Co. man, woman jailed for drug embezzlement charges

A Yazoo County man and woman are behind bars in connection to a drug embezzlement case.

Thirty-year-old Tanya Leal of Satartia is charged with felony embezzlement of and conspiracy to possess 460 dosage units of hydrocodone and xanax.

She is suspected of embezzling the prescription medications from an area drugstore where she worked as a pharmacy technician.

Leal's alleged co-conspirator is 38-year-old Dewayne D. Townsend of Bentonia.

He is charged with felony conspiracy to possess the same drugs.

Both are being held Yazoo County jail under $100 thousand bond.

WLBT

Mississippi Paddler to Hit Century Mark on Big Black River to End First Month of Paddling for Alzheimer’s Awareness

Flora, MS. Saturday July 31, 2010—Mississippi paddler Keith Plunkett will mark 100 miles of paddling for the month of July Sunday afternoon after paddling 30 miles from Highway 16 to Highway 49 on the Big Black River. Plunkett is expected to arrive at the Highway 49 Bridge sometime late Sunday afternoon. The Yazoo County native and Flora resident announced in April the schedule for a year of paddling Mississippi’s waterways. The effort started on July 10 on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and will take Plunkett on a journey across 5 regions of the state ending in June of 2011. During the trips Plunkett is interviewing Alzheimer’s patients and caregivers in each region, and will highlight ongoing efforts by the Alzheimer’s Association and medical professionals to defeat the disease.  Video and photos of the trips are posted online at www.lucysrevenge.com.

Plunkett has been speaking with groups across the state to raise awareness, and to sign up corporate sponsors for the journey. He has set a goal of 600 miles, or roughly 120 miles per region, and hopes to entice a few others to join him on some of the excursions. Anyone interested can follow his travels on his Facebook page through a real-time GPS mapping service provided by the newest sponsor, I-Tech of Madison. 

“I think it’s a significant symbol to hit the hundred-mile mark in the place that my Mamaw always called home,” said Plunkett of the river that marks the Yazoo and Madison County border. “

Plunkett’s grandmother was Lucy Plunkett. The matriarch of the Plunkett family reared six children, and oversaw the upbringing of 9 grandchildren. She was a housewife and an active member of the rural community of Little Yazoo in Yazoo County.

Bentonia Blues Fest This Saturday, June 19.

CL: Get a sample of Bentonia blues


 The Bentonia Blues Festival takes place in downtown Bentonia, located off U.S. 49 between Jackson and Yazoo City. Performers at the free event include headliner Bobby Rush, scheduled to appear at 9 p.m. The day's events begin at 9 a.m. with a series of gospel performers.

The festival is run by bluesman Jimmy "Duck" Holmes, proprietor of Bentonia's Blue Front Cafe, one of the oldest juke joints in the state. Holmes' parents, Carey and Mary Holmes, started the cafe in 1948, and the festival evolved out of blues gatherings at their home.

Holmes, who began performing actively in the last decade, has recorded four mostly acoustic CDs and aims to keep alive the distinctive local tradition most famously represented by blues pioneer Skip James.

"It's an honor to pay homage to the old guys like Skip James, Jack Owens and Jacob Stuckey who laid down the foundation for it all," says Holmes. "I feel like it's because of them that I'm doing what I'm doing, and to take it in another direction would be to dishonor them."

Last weekend Holmes performed at the Chicago Blues Festival on the Mississippi Juke Joint stage, which is underwritten by the Mississippi Development Authority to promote blues tourism. The Bentonia event will feature a number of other artists who appeared in Chicago, namely Dexter Allen, the Jarekus Singleton Band and the duo of Alphonso Sanders and Bill "Howlin' Madd" Perry.

Also performing are Eden Brent, 19th Street Red, the Roosevelt Roberts Blues Review and Brian Sivils.

Related events include a free screening of the blues documentary M For Mississippi, which features Holmes, at the Triangle Cultural Center in Yazoo City at 6:30 tonight, and a jam session at the Blue Front Cafe that begins at 5 p.m. Friday.

For more information, visit Bentonia Blues Festival on Facebook.

WLBT-Bentonia father's fight to keep his daughter in Mississippi

A father in Bentonia is desperately trying to keep his daughter in Mississippi, but a bitter court battle with the child's mother is set to change that. He feared the toddler will end up with a stepfather who has abused her before.

A judge in Utah has ordered 3 year old Kinlee return to that state to live with her mother immediately. It is the latest chapter in a ongoing placement battle.

"My father has done so much for his granddaughter where it has come to the point that he's maxed out his credit cards on attorneys. He took out another $10,000 loan on our land for attorneys. We've done everything in our powers to keep her here," said the father Curtis Foster.

WLBT