Leland business to represent city at folk festival in Jackson
Special to The Leland Progress
Las Delicias of Leland will join dozens of other program guests from across the state at the Mississippi Flavor: At the Crossroads of the American Story, part of the 83rd National Folk Festival’s Mississippi Folklife Area & Stage in November.
From November 13 through 15, Las Delicias will demonstrate their award-winning version of a distinctive Mississippi staple, Delta tamales, at the wide-ranging program, back in downtown Jackson as the event’s second year of a three-year residency in the capital city.
The Mississippi Folklife Area & Stage is a special component of the National Folk Festival, celebrating and showcasing the traditions held deeply in the state’s diverse communities. With a different theme each year, the Folklife Area shines a spotlight on the distinctive music, rituals, crafts, occupations, foodways, and other traditions at the heart of Mississippi’s cultural heritage, expressing both the state’s deep history and its evolving character.
From the Gulf Coast to the Delta and the Prairie to the Hill Country, the area strives to present the best traditional musicians, artisans, and foods in Mississippi, in curated programs that celebrate the state’s rich, varied, and unique culture. Performances, demonstrations, displays, exhibits, and narrative presentations explore a wide range of topics, including the traditions of its Native peoples, the cultural legacies of families who have called the state home for generations, and the expressions of the newest Mississippi residents whose cultural roots are in far-flung places around the globe.
For 250 years, Mississippi culture has flowed continually outward to shape the nation. The state’s folk traditions speak to the heart of America, particularly when it comes to food and music. From church hymns to juke joints, and kitchen tables to gameday tailgates, Mississippi’s traditions are meant to be shared and continually remade. Mississippi Flavor: At the Crossroads of the American Story, a special program curated by the Mississippi Arts Commission, honors the state’s contributions to the nation’s artistic and cultural excellence. It celebrates artists, musicians, cooks, friends, and families who carry the past forward and communities where creativity is a shared act. Here, traditions remind us that Mississippi’s cultural soul does not simply belong to one state but enriches the entire nation
“America’s rich palette and sounds are rooted right here in Mississippi,” said David Lewis, executive director of the Mississippi Arts Commission. “With southern soul and a side of comeback sauce, we continue our celebration of America’s 250th with a focus on the music and flavors Mississippi has cultivated for generations. We can’t wait for everyone to experience what Mississippi has brought to the table this year.”
“The Folklife Area is always a vital part of the National Folk Festival experience, but that’s especially true this year, ” said NCTA Executive Director Blaine Waide. “Mississippi Flavor is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reflect on the state’s contributions, not just as the ‘birthplace of America’s music,’ but as the source of so much of our nation’s artistic and cultural legacy.”
Approximately 300 artists—musicians, dancers, storytellers, and craftspeople—will take part in the National Folk Festival, with more than 30 different musical groups performing on as many as six outdoor performance venues throughout Downtown Jackson.
Other Delta representatives to this year’s event will include Eden Brent of Greenville, a blues pianist, vocalist, songwriter, and educator carrying forward the rich sounds of Mississippi Delta blues and boogie-woogie piano; Edna Nicole and Rev. Slim of Clarksdale, performing their mix of Delta blues, gospel, soul, and funk that draws inspiration from the community and people around them; and the Mississippi Delta Chinese Heritage Museum of Cleveland, showcasing the rich and vibrant customs brought to the Delta by Chinese immigrants, from grocery stores to wok demonstrations, chopstick tutorials, and mahjong.
The festival will be free and open to the public. For more information about the festival, as well as background about the artists and their stories, visit nationalfolkfestival.com/artists.
