Each year, art and music fans anticipate the official poster for the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival. The wait is almost over.
According to Munnie Jordan, director of the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival, the public is invited to attend the unveiling ceremony on Sept. 16. The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held at the Kelly Courtyard on Cherry Street in historic downtown Helena beginning at 5 p.m. The event is sponsored by Southern Bancorp and will feature live music by the Sterling Billingsley Band.
The official 2010 Arkansas Blues and Heritage poster, the 2010 Blues Heritage Youth Art Contest poster, and the commemorative 25th annual Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival print will all be unveiled during the evening.
According to Jordan, this is the first time the festival has commissioned a commemorative print. The official festival posters have become very collectible over the past two and a half decades, and the commemorative print, by artist Cristen Craven Barnard, will undoubtedly become a collector’s item. The official 2010 Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival T-shirts will also be available for purchase.
The 25th annual Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival promises to be one of the best ever. This year’s lineup includes headliners B.B. King (Thursday, Oct. 7), Dr. John (Friday, Oct. 8) and Taj Mahal (Saturday, Oct. 9). The three-day event also features performances by Reba Russell, Paul Thorn, Kentucky Headhunters, Pinetop Perkins, Michael Burks, Marcia Ball, Anson Funderburg & The Rockets, Charlie Musselwhite, Bobby Rush, and many, many others. Performances will take place on the festival Main Stage, the Acoustic Stage, the Emerging Artists Stage, the Gospel Stage and the Bit O’ Blues Stage (featuring artists under the age of 17).
In addition to the best music around, the festival also offers a variety of food and beverage vendors, arts and craft vendors, a 5K/10K run, a blues symposium, a barbeque cook-off and activities for the entire family. To find out more, log on to www.bluesandheritagefest.com.
