Alabama festival honoring ‘father of the blues’ W.C. Handy under way

By Bernie Delinski, TimesDaily

An space identified yr spherical for its music kicks it up a notch for the remainder of the month on the W.C. Helpful Pageant.

In its forty first yr, the competition options some 250 occasions in eating places and different venues each indoors and outside all through the Shoals area of northwest Alabama.

“Individuals ask me about all of it yr lengthy,” competition chair Tori Bailey mentioned of the annual occasion.

The competition, which honors Florence native and “Father of the Blues” W.C. Helpful, gives quite a lot of music and occasions by way of July 31.

Actually, it even included a form of Helpful Pageant Eve celebration Thursday night time with the inaugural Helpful Block Celebration and Karaoke Idol at FloBama restaurant. The competition consists of quite a few daytime occasions in addition to Helpful Musical Nights at numerous eating places and different venues.

“We actually admire all of our Helpful patrons, and quite a lot of eating places are amongst our patrons,” Bailey mentioned.

She mentioned 30,000 Helpful brochures have been printed. They are often discovered at numerous areas all through the Shoals, and Helpful T-shirts are on sale for $20, with T-shirts from earlier festivals can be found at discounted costs.

Dee Lucas is the headliner for this yr’s competition, which begins at 7:30 p.m. on July 30 on the College of North Alabama’s Norton Auditorium. Tickets are $20 common admission and $30 for VIP seating.

This is also the primary yr for what is going to change into an annual occasion — the W.C. Helpful Kickoff Extravaganza on the Alabama Music Corridor of Fame in Tuscumbia. The extravaganza options Tony Terry, Glenn Jones, Shirley Murdock, Wilson Meadows, Eric Essix, Donna Wills, the Midnighters, Travis Wammack, Vann Burchfield, King Tut and DJ Charlie Hustle.

“It’s a brand new occasion for us and’s that huge for us,” Bailey mentioned. “The lineup consists of some hitmakers who’ve charted on the prime of the charts.”

Sunday will function a key occasion on the W.C. Helpful Residence and Museum entrance garden starting at 6 p.m. This historically has been often known as the opening ceremonies, however starting this yr it’s referred to as the Official Helpful Sunday Ceremony for the reason that competition has expanded over time to incorporate your complete weekend as its opening.