New Date, New Location & New Decade of the BLUES!
Durham, NC- The St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation, Inc. is pleased announce the 21st Annual Bull Durham Blues Festival will be held September 18, 19, & 20, 2008. Not only have the dates change Volunteer Forms from the first weekend in September, there will be a new location for the festival this year- the Durham Bulls Athletic Park (DBAP), 409 Blackwell Street, Durham. Yes, this “new decade of the blues” will relocate to the BDAP for this year’s event due to the scheduled renovations of the historic Durham Athletic Park (DAP).
The Thursday night concert will take place at the St. Joseph’s Performance Hall at the Hayti Heritage Center at 7:00 PM, and will feature acoustic blues artists paying tribute to the Carolina and Piedmont blues styles. Friday and Saturday, September 19 & 20 the festival kicks off at 6pm in the DBAP featuring four acts per night. At the Festival there is something for the entire family, a KidsZone with interactive entertainment for youngsters; and a Marketplace where blues lovers can indulge in an eclectic mix of regional and international foods for the soul, arts and crafts by NC artists, and a variety of unique specialty items. The music is sure to make you move, but if you feel a need, lawn chairs and blankets are welcome. Join in the fun on the infield or in the grandstand, rain or shine!! Gates open at 5 PM and show ends at 11PM.
The artists’ line-up for North Carolina’s largest celebration of the blues will be announced in May. The pre-sale is scheduled for June 23-27, with advance tickets going on sale July 1.
Vendor application forms are available now, call 683-1709 ext. 21 or download the application here.
Volunteer forms will be available June 1st, call 683-1709 ext. 33 or download the application here.
This annual festival, produced by St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation, Inc., has been successfully presented since 1988. It is nationally recognized as one of the premier Blues festivals in the country and was honored in 2000 with the “Keeping the Blues Alive Award” by The Blues Foundation in Memphis, TN. This three-day event has become North Carolina’s largest celebration of the Blues, recognizing Durham’s rich musical heritage as an important center of Carolina and Piedmont Blues. The festival has attracted as many as 20,000 Blues lovers and has over a 3 million dollar economic impact on the Durham economy annually.
The St. Joseph’s Historic Foundation, Inc. (SJHF) founded in 1975, is an African American cultural and educational institution deeply rooted in the historic Hayti community of Durham, North Carolina. SJHF is dedicated to advancing cultural understanding through diverse programs that examine the experiences of Americans of African descent – locally, nationally and globally. The Foundation is committed to preserving, restoring and developing the Heritage Center, the former St. Joseph AME Church, a National Historic Landmark, as a cultural and economic anchor to the greater Durham community. Funds raised from the event support the programs and operations of the Foundation and Hayti Heritage Center.
For more information call (919) 683-1709 or info@hayti.org.
