ARKANSAS BLUES AND HERITAGE FESTIVAL OFFERS REDUCED ADMISSION
(Formerly King Biscuit Blues Festival)
P.O. Box 118
Helena-West Helena, AR 72342
A SONNY BOY BLUES SOCIETY PRODUCTION
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
ARKANSAS BLUES AND HERITAGE FESTIVAL OFFERS REDUCED ADMISSION
FEES FOR OCTOBER EVENT IN HELENA, ARK.
Organizers credit local contributions and new leadership for bargain rates
HELENA-WEST HELENA, Ark. (Sept. 2, 2009) – Admission rates for this year’s Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival – to be held Oct. 8-10 in Helena, Ark. – have been reduced by half. Admission is now $5 per day and $10 for a three-day pass. Previously publicized admission fees were $10 per day and $25 for a three-day pass.
Advance tickets for the 2009 festival are now available online and can be purchased by visiting
www.bluesandheritagefest.com. Beginning Sept. 8, all participating Food Giant stores in Helena-West Helena, Marianna, Harrisburg, Forrest City and Little Rock, as well as Tobacco Warehouse stores in Augusta and McCrory, will sell advance tickets.
Festival-goers who purchase pre-sale tickets from the stores will be entered into a raffle for a 2009 Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival poster signed by this year’s performers.
“Based on our research of other festivals that have gone from free to paid events, we are now
able to offer passes at a reduced rate of $5 a day pass or $10 for a three day pass,” said Munnie Jordan, executive director of the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival. “Offering passes at this price will allow us to not only bring in blues fans from around the globe, but also help the festival reach out to our local residents as we transition from a free to paid event.”
The admission fee announcement comes on the heels of weeks of planning and reorganization
taking place within the festival. Jordan and Associate Director Daniel Sims were recruited earlier this year by the Sonny Boy Blues Society, owners and producers of the festival, to assist with the event’s reorganization and fundraising. Jordan, a lifelong resident of Helena, previously served as director of the King Biscuit Blues Festival from 1992-1997 when the festival was owned and produced by Main Street Helena.
“I watched the festival grow from a Main Street Helena creative idea into one of the largest blues festivals in the country. I have a passion for this festival and our community,” Jordan said. “It has given our community and Arkansas worldwide positive publicity and has allowed us to brand our region as the home of the blues and capitalize on our heritage.”
Sims, also a Helena native, returned home in March to conduct community development work
and approached the festival about ways he could contribute.
“I definitely didn’t know that things would turn out the way that they did, but I am glad that I can be a part of this experience,” Sims said. “Coming back home and working with Munnie has been a phenomenal experience.”
For more information on the festival and how to get involved, please contact Sims at (870) 338-6583 or visit www.bluesandheritagefest.com.
About Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival
The Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival, formerly known as the King Biscuit Blues Festival, is one of the nation’s foremost showcases of blues music. Held for three days annually in October, tens of thousands of blues enthusiasts converge on historic downtown Helena, Ark., to hear stirring and uplifting performances of an American art form on the banks of the Mississippi River. Founded in 1986, the first festival was a one-day event with a small gathering of local residents and a flatbed truck as a stage. Since then, the festival has grown to a three-day event with three stages and several activities, such as the Kenneth Freemyer 5K Run, the Blues in Schools program, and the ABHF BBQ Cook-off. The 2009 event marks the festival’s 24th anniversary. Festival officials expect 65,000 to attend.
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