View full size Performing artist Tucka was among the acts lined up for the 21st annual Mississippi Gulf Coast Blues and Heritage Festival on Saturday. Hundreds gathered for the all-day fest at the Jackson County Fairgounds in Pascagoula. (The Mississippi Press/Beverly Tuskan)PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- Saturday was a blues kind of day for hundreds of people who turned out for the 21st annual Mississippi Gulf Coast Blues and Heritage Festival in Pascagoula.
Under the pavilion at the Jackson County Fairgrounds, people sat in chairs that were already set up, while many others relaxed in chairs they brought with them.
Still others got up to sway, snap their fingers and move to the soulful R&B sounds of blues artists Tucka, Jeff Floyd, James Payne, Arthur Foy and headliner Bobby Rush, to name a few.
Even Victoria Webb, walker in hand, headed toward the music stage and the dance floor.
"I like this. This is my makeup, my life," said the 104-year-old blues fan. "That's my main thing -- dancing."
Webb said she attends the festival because "it brings a lot of people together, you know, that wouldn't ordinarily get together. This is a good weekend after the storm."
View full sizeVictoria Webb, 104 years old, walks toward the stage to enjoy the slate of R&B and blues artists performing at the 21st annual Mississippi Gulf Coast Blues and Heritage Festival in Pascagoula on Saturday. Attending the festival is "my makeup, my life," Webb said. (The Mississippi Press/Beverly TuskanFloyd Green, a military and federal government retiree and serious blues lover, drove over in his mobile home from Pensacola, Fla., with a few friends.
"I try to make this round every year," said Green, kicked back in his folding chair. "I come here, then I'll go to Clarksdale, Mississippi, and go to Red's Juke Joint to listen to the blues, then I go to Morgan Freeman's Ground Zero Club and listen to the blues there. I just get filled up with blues, you know."
Sunshine Knight from Pensacola, and Doris Payne of Mobile, and the wife of performer James Payne, both said they were enjoying themselves.
"This is my first time here. I'm having fun," Knight said.
Mildred Hall of McComb thought the festival was wonderful. She said everything was well-planned and well-organized.
"When you go to a blues fest, you have to be all around with all who are present," Hall said. She was there especially to see Bobby Rush, who returned to share his combined talents of blues, soul and funk.
Additional highlights of the evening were the offerings of ethnic, soul and barbecue dishes, and refreshments.
View full sizeBlues fans dance to the sounds of R&B and soulful blues during the 21st annual Mississippi Gulf Coast Blues and Heritage Festival in Pascagoula on Saturday. (The Mississippi Press/Beverly Tuskan)Patrons strolled the outer perimeter of the pavilion to see the displays of arts and crafts.
Event organizers were expecting a crowd of 2,000 to 3,000, as they have seen during the previous festivals.
But Phyllis Owens, vice president of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Blues Commission, said she was expecting an even larger turnout because three charter buses purchased advanced tickets -- one bus was from Alabama, the other two from New Orleans.
While pointing to the southeast corner of the pavilion, Owens said, "That's where the buses pull in. The people congregate over there and they party all night long."
Isiah Edwards Jr., founder of the coast Blues Commission, said the festival is a celebration of the contributions the Mississippi blues culture has made to the American story, and is held to help preserve that culture.
"When we started this organization, we wanted to keep blues music because Mississippi was the state for blues music. That was our first objective," Edwards said. "Our second objective is to donate money to kids' organizations, like Boys and Girls Clubs and the Boys Scouts. Over the years, on the coast, we've given to all of them at one time or another."