The official excuse for the horrendous changes at this year’s Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival in Clarksdale is that it costs money to bring …
The evidence of a Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival committee woefully out of touch with the blues, tourism, Clarksdale and basic common sense simply …
Yet more comments from people that were distressed by the way this year’s Sunflower Blues and Gospel Festival was set up.
More about the 2012 Sunflower Blues Festival (via NMissCommentor)
Obviously, I wasn’t the only blues fan that disliked the vibe of this year’s Sunflower Blues and Heritage Festival
Other Perspectives on the Not-So-Festive Festival (via Deltaborn.blogspot.com)
The fenced-in enclosure directly in front of the stage at this year’s Sunflower River Blues Festival has already occasioned much critical comment, and that is …
The Sunflower festival’s decision to enclose a compound directly in front of the main stage for paying attendees opened old wounds related to issues of class and race in Clarksdale, as evidenced by graffiti left on the wall by festival-goers and local residents. One writer cleverly compares it to the Berlin Wall with Ronald Reagan’s famous words to Gorbachev “Mr. President, tear down this wall!” Given the fact that the area was almost completely empty while I was there other than festival staff and security, one can hope that this monstrosity will be gone next year.
Sharde Thomas and the Rising Star Fife and Drum Band play under the main stage in front of the empty chairs and tables at the Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival in Clarksdale, 8/11/12
Despite almost perfect weather, this year’s Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival seemed extremely small compared to previous years, with only one stage of performances, and that blocked by a new fenced-in compound with tables and chairs presumably reserved for wealthy donors or paying ticket-holders. Since the compound was nearly-empty, performers got the dubious pleasure of performing to the empty tables in front of the stage, since the crowd was in the free area to the east closer to the Blues Museum.
Memphian Clarence Saunders might not be a household name, but the next time you or your loved ones “run to the supermarket” you can thank him. In the early twentieth century (around 1916, I believe) he invented the concept of the “self-service grocery store” when he opened the first Piggly Wiggly store in Memphis. The store featured such innovations as pre-measured packages of sugar and flour. The concept took off nicely, and Saunders began building a mansion for himself on Central Avenue that people nicknamed “The Pink Palace”. Unfortunately, Saunders sold the Piggly-Wiggly stores to others, and eventually went bankrupt. Later, he started a chain of Clarence Saunders grocery stores that he called “Sole Owner” stores to point out that while he might have sold the rights to the Piggly Wiggly name, he still had rights to his own name. When this building on Lamar in Glenview was recently renovated and painted, the Clarence Saunders sign here was revealed, and the building owners decided to restore it as well. Saunders tried one more daring concept around World War II when he created Keedoozle, an automated grocery store where customers would use keys to “unlock” items that would slide down chutes. Payment was by means of a vending-machine, and the customer received his goods in a box at the end of the process. This newfangled technology proved too confusing for Memphians, and the concept failed. The ornate Italianate mansion that Saunders lost in bankruptcy is today Memphis’ beloved Pink Palace Museum.
Follow this link for complete info about this year’s Sunflower Blues and Gospel Festival in Clarksdale, MS including travel information and a comprehensive schedule of performances.
