WM Blues off Broadway earns kudos
Music celebration receives award from Delta Byways
By Ralph Hardin
ralphhardin@gmail.com
The 22nd annual Arkansas Delta Awards were held Friday, Feb. 16, at the Eugene Woods Civic Center in West Memphis.
The awards recognize tourism achievement in Eastern Arkansas.
Among the winnerr being lauded at the event was a local celebration of the region’s rich musical heritage. Blues off Broadway was named the 2023 Festival/Event of the Year. Held each Thursday in May, Blues off Broadway featured a variety of regional musical acts and treated attendees to a number of food and beverage options from local vendors and food trucks, drawingg crowds of two to three hundred each night.
The winners of other tourism awards were:
•
Jonesboro Shooting Sports Complex, Jonesboro, Craighead County
• Entrepreneur Award: Delta Dirt Distillery, Helena-West Helena, Phillips County
• Tourism Support/Promotional Award: The Lawrence Group, Wilson, Mississippi
See BLUES, page A3
File photo BLUES
From page A1
County
• Boot Strap Award: McGehee Firefighters Memorial Park, McGehee, Desha County
• Cultural Heritage Award: Paragould’s “The Station” Power Plant Revitalization, Paragould, Greene County
• Outstanding Member Award: Sheila Ward, Blytheville, Mississippi County
• Tourism Person of the Year: Dr.
Adam Long, Jonesboro, Craighead County
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Paula McGowen Miles, Jonesboro, Craighead County and Marcel Hanzlik,
Wynne, Cross County
About Arkansas Delta Byways
Arkansas Delta Byways (ADB) is the nonprofit association recognized by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism as the official tourism promotion association for 15 counties in Eastern Arkansas.
Counties include Arkansas, Chicot, Clay, Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Desha, Drew, Greene, Lee, Mississippi, Monroe, Phillips, Poinsett and St. Francis.
ADB receives administrative support through Arkansas State University’s Arkansas Heritage Sites Office.
For more details, one may contact Arkansas Delta Byways, (870) 9722803.
Share