15,000 Enjoyed a Weekend of the BLUES!
On behalf of the St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation, Inc, and Bull Durham Blues Festival staff, THANK YOU to all who attended, volunteered, and participated in this year’s festival in any way! It was an exciting three days of great BLUES music, a little for everyone to enjoy. Starting with the Blues After Hours featuring Tad Walters and Mel Melton, to the Blues in the Schools programs lead by Scott Ainslie and Ernie Hawkins, art exhibition by Wsir Johnson, the acoustic concert on Thursday featuring The M.S.G. Acoustic Blues Trio, Friday’s great piano playing by Marcia Ball and the gritty sounds of Clarence Carter; the soulful rhythm of Bernard Allison to the legendary Taj Mahal… this festival really put the B in the blues. The food was the best ever, and the weather was perfect. We are glad you decided to share the weekend with us. If you missed it, we will see you next year.
Being in a new location, the Durham Bulls Athletic Park had it advantages and disadvantages. Our major concern was to make everyone feel comfortable and safe, while maintaining the traditional festival atmosphere. I think we succeeded!
There are so many people to thank, but especially to our SPONSORS, for without their support financially - producing a festival of this magnitude would be very difficult, if not impossible for our organization to do each year. Many thanks to the volunteers, vendors and businesses we work with who provide lights, sound, stage (RMB Audio), labor, marketing, and concession needs. Special thanks to the City of Durham and especially the Parks & Recreation Department for the flooring provided (folks really enjoyed it as a dance floor!), and the staff of the Durham Bulls who assisted in many areas. To Mel Melton (and staff) at Papa Mojo’s Roadhouse for their terrific service to our artists and sponsors!
We have a difficult decision to make concerning the future venue for the festival and would like to hear your thoughts. Please email us at info@hayti.org or go to our website to let us know what you liked or did not like about this year’s event. We will make a decision early 2009.
See you at next year’s festival at the DBAP or DAP!
We appreciate your continued support of the programs of St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation and Hayti Heritage Center.
Keeping the Blues Alive!
V. Dianne Pledger, Executive Producer
