My final column in May for my previous paper, the Madison Journal in Tallulah, La. (the Clarksdale Press Register’s sister paper), touched on how different communities in nearby areas need to consolidate resources and work together. That type of collaboration promotes economic growth and improves the quality of life.
Shortly after I moved back to Clarksdale, I saw Colleen Buyers from Shared Experiences was doing just that.
The Sonny Boy Blues Society announced in May that the King Biscuit Blues Festival in Helena-West Helena, Ark., would be cancelled this year. KBBF takes place every October.
Approximately two weeks after the Sonny Boy Blues Society announced the cancellation, they decided to hold an abbreviated version of KBBF. It will be held on Friday, Oct. 10, and Saturday, Oct. 11.
KBBF usually begins on a Wednesday and runs through the Saturday of that week.
Buyers stepped in to combine efforts with the Sonny Boy Blues Society and make sure KBBF events are held throughout the week in 2025.
A Pre-King Biscuit Festival will be held in Clarksdale from Wednesday, Oct. 8 to Friday, Oct. 10.
The Pinetop Perkins Homecoming Festival, as usual, will be held in Clarksdale on the Sunday following KBBF.
As Buyers made clear when speaking to the Clarksdale Board of Mayor and Commissioners in June, KBBF is still Helena-West Helena’s event.
“The metaphor is that you all still have the wedding. We’ll just handle the rehearsal dinner,” Buyers said to the Board of Mayor and Commissioners as they laughed.
“No one can replicate ‘The Biscuit,’ nor do we want to. We want to celebrate and support King Biscuit, and respect what makes it special.”
KBBF is scheduled to be in Helena-West Helena for the full week in 2026.
However, for this year, Clarksdale and Helena-West Helena coming together gave the communities and tourists a full schedule of events related to KBBF.
Clarksdale and Helena-West Helena coming together is fitting for many reasons.
One, the two communities are 30 minutes away and sister cities.
Two, both communities focus on the blues, history, tourism, Civil Rights and more. Clarksdale and Helena-West Helena are both very authentic with genuine people. There is a friendly atmosphere in both communities.
Three, Clarksdale and Helena-West Helena both benefit economically from KBBF. That would be true even if every KBBF event was in Helena-West Helena and nothing was held in Clarksdale.
Buyers cited an economic development study with a previous administration in office showing that tourists spend an average of $178 per day when they are in Clarksdale and Coahoma County.
Tourists coming for KBBF in Helena-West Helena stay in hotels in Coahoma County, eat at restaurants in Coahoma County and shop in Coahoma County.
Four, since both communities have excellent festivals, they feed off of one another. Both communities receive the economic rewards from festivals being held in their sister city.
Each festival held in Clarksdale and Helena-West Helena is unique. You cannot come to one festival and say it’s just like the others.
I speak from first-hand experience.
My first full-time job was at the Helena World in Helena-West Helena, Ark., from 2003 to 2005. I have had ties with Helena-West Helena longer than anywhere I’ve worked.
I have also lived in Coahoma County longer than any community I’ve worked in as an adult. I’ve lived in Coahoma County for a combined nine-and-a-half years and worked for the Press Register for a combined eight-and-a-half years. Clarksdale has become my adopted home.
As you can see, both communities played important roles in my life, but for different reasons. So I can appreciate how, even though they are similar in many ways, they are also very unique.
KBBF is Helena-West Helena’s biggest festival. It brings a true focus to the blues and has an excellent central location on Cherry Street in Helena-West Helena.
Juke Joint Festival is Clarksdale’s biggest festival and is held every April. JJF has a greater focus on the blues clubs throughout the community and provides family entertainment with shows such as “Monkeys Riding Dogs.” I encourage you to come to the next JJF so you can learn what “Monkeys Riding Dogs” is.
To have the full experience of these festivals, you need to attend JJF in April and KBBF in October. Attending both events will benefit Helena-West Helena and Clarksdale.
Consolidating efforts in Clarksdale and Helena-West Helena is just a start. We should look at the format leaders in both communities used to keep KBBF strong and find similar ways to keep the Delta and our region growing.
Josh Troy is the editor and publisher of the Clarksdale Press Register. He can be reached at (662) 627-2201 or joshtroy@pressregister.com.
