Calendar of Events

Welcome to the Delta Cultural Center's Calendar of Events page. The museum hosts special blues music events and programs throughout the year, such as Delta blues festivals, gospel festivals, folk art exhibits and much more. Don't miss the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival in October, formerly known as King Biscuit Blues Festival. This Delta blues festival is the largest free blues festival in the nation!

Please check back often to find upcoming events at the Delta Cultural Center, or subscribe to our Delta Currents E-Newsletter to get regular email updates.

King Biscuit Time
Each weekday
Helena-West Helena - DCC Visitors Center 141 Cherry Street Helena-West Helena
12:15 p.m.- 12:45 p.m.
http://www.deltaculturalcenter.com
“King Biscuit Time,” the nation’s longest-running blues radio program, is hosted each weekday at the DCC Visitor’s Center by “Sunshine” Sonny Payne, from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m.

Admission is free; the public is welcome to attend.

“Delta Sounds,” hosted by DCC Assistant Director Terry Buckalew and Payne, is broadcast each Friday at 1 to 1:30 p.m.

Gallery hours at the DCC Visitors Center at 141 Cherry Street and the nearby DCC Depot at 95 Missouri Street are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays.

For more information, interested persons can contact the Delta Cultural Center at (870) 338-4350 or toll free at (800) 358-0972, visit the DCC online at www.deltaculturalcenter.com, or email info@deltaculturalcenter.com.
'Rhythm & Roots: Southern Music' Exhibit
Wednesday, August 18, through Saturday, September 25
Helena-West Helena - DCC Visitors Center 141 Cherry Street
http://www.deltaculturalcenter.com
HELENA-WEST HELENA – The new “Rhythm & Roots: Southern Music” exhibit examines the rich variety of traditionally recognized Southern music forms – including blues, bluegrass, Cajun, country, gospel, Appalachian, and bluegrass — as well as musical traditions less readily associated with the South, including the cultural sounds of Native American, Asian, Caribbean, and Latino communities. The exhibit was created by South Arts, the Atlanta-based regional arts organization.

“Rhythm & Roots is a tribute to all of the musical forms that come together to create the Southern sound,” says Gerri Combs, executive director of South Arts. “The Rhythm & Roots exhibit, part of our Southern Visions program, showcases key Southern musicians and the instruments they play.”

The exhibit is augmented by handheld audio guides that allow museum visitors to hear samples of the music referenced in “Rhythm & Roots.” Also, the DCC is displaying a number of related museum artifacts with the exhibit.

Among musicians recognized in “Rhythm & Roots” as early Southern innovators are: Thomas A. Dorsey, the prolific songwriter called the “father of African-American gospel music” (and a blues performer earlier in his career); pioneer Mississippi Delta blues singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist Charley Patton; Kentucky thumb-picking guitarist Arnold Schultz; and North Carolina banjo pickers Dewitt “Snuffy” Jenkins and Earl Scruggs, both of whom drew on local traditions in which players plucked the strings with the thumb, index and middle fingers.

The exhibit also notes two musicians who brought the unique sounds of their homes to Northern audiences -- Dewey Balfa, who pioneered Cajun music performance outside Louisiana, and Wade Mainer, whose bluegrass sounds entertained Michigan and Ohio industrial workers in live settings and on record. Cherokee musician Walker Calhoun and the music of the corn dance are noted, as is the increasingly international flavor of music in the multicultural South.

“Rhythm & Roots” is the latest addition to South Arts’ Southern Visions: The Southern Arts & Culture Traveling Exhibits Program. Since 1995, Southern Visions has provided more than 500,000 people with access to exhibits celebrating the South’s artistry and cultural heritage. “Rhythm & Roots: Southern Music” is presented in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional corporate support was provided by Hart Law Firm of Atlanta.

Gallery hours at the DCC Visitors Center at 141 Cherry Street and the nearby DCC Depot at 95 Missouri Street are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. “King Biscuit Time,” the nation’s longest-running blues radio program, is hosted each weekday at the DCC Visitor’s Center by “Sunshine” Sonny Payne, from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m. “Delta Sounds,” hosted by DCC Assistant Director Terry Buckalew and Payne, is broadcast each Friday at 1 to 1:30 p.m.

For more information, call the Delta Cultural Center at (870) 338-4350 or toll free at (800) 358-0972, visit the DCC online at www.deltaculturalcenter.com, or email info@deltaculturalcenter.com. Interested persons can contact Blues Bayou at (870) 405-4979.

The Delta Cultural Center shares the vision of all seven agencies of the Department of Arkansas Heritage – to preserve and promote Arkansas heritage as a source of pride and satisfaction. Other agencies within the department are the Historic Arkansas Museum, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, the Old State House Museum, the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, the Arkansas Arts Council, and the Natural Heritage Commission.
Arkansas Blues & Heritage Festival
Thursday, October 7, through Saturday, October 9, 2010
Helena-West Helena - Cherry Street Pavilion
http://www.bluesandheritagefest.com
The 25th Annual Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival, held on the banks of the Mississippi River in historic downtown Helena-West Helena at the Cherry Street Pavilion, presents the best in local, regional, and internationally recognized blues musicians, this year featuring B.B. King, Dr. John, Taj Mahal, Marcia Ball, Michael Burks, Charlie Musselwhite, Willie Cobbs, Bobby Rush, John Hammond, and many more.

Admission information can be found at the festival website.

Main Stage -- Thursday, Oct. 7
-- Emerging Artist
-- 2009 Emerging Artist Winner Heather Cross
-- 2010 SBBS Battle of the Bands Winner
-- 2010 IBC Winner Grady Champion
-- Willie Cobbs
-- Sterling Billingsley Band
-- James Harman
-- Reba Russell
-- Paul Thorn
-- B.B. King

Main Stage -- Friday, Oct. 8
-- Sherrie Williams
-- Smokin' Joe Kubek
-- Big Jack Johnson
-- The Kentucky Headhunters
-- Hubert Sumlin & The Willie "Big Eyes" Smith Band
-- Michael Burks
-- Marcia Ball
-- Dr. John

Main Stage -- Saturday, Oct. 9
-- Preston Shannon
-- Larry McCray
-- Bobby Parker
-- Pinetop Perkins & Bob Margolin
-- Anson Funderburg & The Rockets
-- Walter "Wolfman" Washington
-- Charlie Musselwhite
-- Taj Mahal

Lockwood-Stackhouse Stage -- Friday, Oct. 8
11-11:45 a.m. -- U.S. Navy Band
Noon-12:45 p.m. -- Phillip Stackhouse
1-1:45 p.m. -- Andy Coats
2-2:45 p.m. -- Johnny Billington
3-3:45 p.m. -- Eden Brent
4-5 p.m. -- Bernie Pearl
5:30-6:40 p.m. -- Spoonfed Blues featuring Mississippi Spoonman
7-8:10 p.m. -- Gwen White
8:30-9:40 p.m. -- Mojo Buford
10-11:15 p.m. -- Bobby Rush

Lockwood-Stackhouse Stage -- Saturday, Oct. 9
Noon-1 p.m. -- Jimmy "Duck" Holmes
1:20-2:20 p.m. -- Rev. Roberts
2:40-3:40 p.m. -- Austin "Walkin' Cane" Charanghat
4-5 p.m. -- John Hammond
5:30-6:40 -- Lonnie Shields
7-8:10 p.m. -- Wumpus Cats
8:30-9:40 -- Don McMinn
10-11:15 p.m. -- Earnest "Guitar" Roy