The Delta As You Have Never Seen It

Fully Escorted Group Tour Oct 06 - 08, 2009

by Willy Bearden

Introduction

Why do people journey to Mississippi from all over the world to travel her back roads and highways? Are they looking for the romance of the Old South portrayed in books and film? Perhaps, they are looking to find the depths of her literary soul or just the soulful sounds of the Delta Blues. Come join us on our adventure through the Mississippi Delta to discover what makes this slice of American life so unique, so fascinating. William Bearden, author and filmmaker will be our “traveling historian” taking us from Memphis to his home in Rolling Fork. He will guide us to the places where historic events took place, where famous authors were inspired and the blues were born.

Inlcuded in the Price:

• Fully Escorted by Willy Bearden & Sweet Magnolia Tours
• Deluxe motorcoach
• 2 Nights Room & Tax at the Comfort Inn Greenville
• History Presentations by Author William Bearden
• Continental Breakfast at the Comfort Inn Greenville
• Tamales-White Front Café
• Lunch-Blue Levee Restaurant
• Greenville Evening Reception
• Catered Luncheon at Mt Helena-Rolling Fork
• Fried Tamale Appetizers at the Bourbon Mall Restaurant
• Delta Blues Museum
• Winterville Mounds & Museum
• Hebrew Union Temple Museum
• Tours - Catfish Farm and Cotton Gin
• Jim Henson Museum-Leland
• Hwy 61 Blues Museum-Leland
• BB King Museum & Interpretive Center
  

Detailed Itinerary

Day1, Tuesday, October 6, 2009 Memphis-Clarksdale-Greenville

7:45am Boarding and loading luggage. Your deluxe motorcoach will be in front of the Fogelman Center on the University of Memphis campus. For those who wish to leave their cars, the parking is $6.00 per day in the University Parking lot next to the center

8:00am Departure. Please be on time as the coach will leave at 8:00am promptly. Our company has a seat rotation at noon, evening and morning moving forward. A cooler will be on board for those wishing to store medicine. Your trip is fully escorted by a Sweet Magnolia Tour professional tour escort; please notify our office of any special dietary needs.

This morning you will follow the Mississippi Blues Trail down Highway 61 through the heart of the Delta Blues Country. Traveling by towns like Walls, Ms, home and final resting place of Memphis Minnie, and Tunica, home of famous Bluesman Son House and James Cotton, before arriving at the “Crossroads” of Hwy 61 & Hwy 49 at Clarksdale. Clarksdale is the site of the Sunflower and Juke Joint Annual Blues Festivals, Ground Zero, Stovall Plantation where Muddy Waters was discovered and the Delta Blues Museum. After a short stop to visit the Delta Blues Museum you will travel to Stovall Plantation where Willy will give a presentation.

Continuing on the day’s journey you will travel to Rosedale where a special dining experience is in store.
White Front Café tamales are on the Hot Tamale Trail; however, it is not large enough for our group, so we will be served White Front Café Tamales with our lunch at the Blue Levee Restaurant! Only in the Delta!

The remaining part of the afternoon will be spent at the Winterville Mounds and Museum where Willy will give us a presentation on the advanced North American Indians who thrived on this flat Delta landscape. Following the presentation you will tour the museum before we move on to Mound Landing where your presentation will be on the ‘27 Flood and the second Great Migration.

A late afternoon arrival in Greenville will find us checking in at the Comfort Inn, your home for the next two nights. Your Sweet Magnolia tour escort will assist with check in.

Evening – Tonight you will enjoy the hospitality of Greenville as a guest of the Greenville CVB. A lovely Southern reception will be held in an historic home owned by one of one of the town’s residents. Following the reception you will be free to go back to the hotel or listen to the Delta Blues at one of the Walnut Street Blues Clubs, which are in walking distance of your hotel.

Day 2 Wednesday, October 7, 2009 Greenville- Rolling Fork-Greenville
Continental Breakfast – Included at the Comfort Inn.

9:00am - Tour of Greenville with a presentation at the Hebrew Union Temple, Century of History Museum. Greenville’s Jewish history dates back to 1867. Housed within the walls of the current Temple, built in 1906, is important memorabilia, photographs and stories of the contributions and culture of Greenville’s early Jewish residents.

The next stop on our morning tour is at the McCormick Book Inn. The Book Inn showcases a collection of Greenville authors, extensive Mississippi and Delta titles and a fascinating display of Greenville pictures and artifacts. Willy will give us a fine presentation on Greenville authors, and time will be allowed to peruse the shelves and enhance your personal book collection.

Our last stop before departing Greenville for Rolling Fork is at the historic Greenville Cemetery, the final resting place of famous authors, politicians and local personalities who formed early Greenville.

Continuing our journey through the lower Delta you will arrive at Mt Helena, a beautiful antebellum mansion set on atop an Indian Mound in Rolling Fork. A catered lunch will be provided while Willy tells us the story of the “Bride of Annandale.”

Agriculture and the Civil War will be our topics for the remainder of the afternoon from William Alexander Percy’s “Lanterns on the Levee” to visits at a Catfish Farm, Cotton Gin and finally Teddy Roosevelt’s Bear Hunt of 1902. In late afternoon you will return to the Comfort Inn for a little R & R before dinner.

Evening – Dinner this evening is an event you will not soon forget. Please dress casually as you are going to the Bourbon Mall in rural Washington County.

Surrounded by cotton fields, in a remote section of Washington County, this one-of-a-kind restaurant is a favorite haunt for many. Built as a General Store in the late 1920’s this ever popular restaurant boasts of being the first to serve “Fried Hot Tamales,” a gourmet’s delight, no doubt! Don’t let the ramshackle surrounding fool you, the owner Mark Azlin serves the best porterhouse steaks in the county! The menu offers a variety of regional chicken, fish and pasta dishes, as well. You will be on your own for dinner, however, you will have a chance to try those Fried Hot Tamales as an appetizer with our compliments.

Day 3 Thursday, Oct 8, 2009 Leland-Indianola-Ruleville-Mound Bayou-Memphis
Continental Breakfast – Included at the Comfort Inn.
Check out. Please have your bags at the bus by 8:00am.

8:30am Depart for Leland, home of authors, musicians and agricultural research scientists. With it’s proximity to Stoneville, the home of one of the largest agricultural research stations in the country, Leland is able to claim more advanced degrees per capita than any other non-college town in the state. And what other city can claim to be the birthplace of the most famous frog in the world! Jim Henson, the creator of the Muppets, called Leland home, so today we will make a stop to visit the Jim Henson Museum on the banks of the beautiful Deer Creek.

Leland’s contribution to the Delta Blues is depicted in the Leland Blues Murals and exhibited at The Delta Blues Museum, in downtown Leland. The old Temple Theater, now houses the museum that honors Bluesmen James “Son” House, Little Milton, Jimmy Reed, Willie Foster and Eddie Cusic, Bluesmen from the Leland area. After a stop to view the exhibits you will depart Leland for Indianola.

Indianola is best known as the home of the son of a sharecropper, Riley B. King, better known to all as B .B King’s, the “King of the Blues.” His life and career is honored at the new BB King Museum and Interpretive Center. Your experience at the center starts with an introductory file followed by a docent led tour of the museum.

Lunch today will be at the Crown, a delightful restaurant filled with original art, classic children’s toys, books about the Delta and Taste of Gourmet food mixes and samples. Your lunch will include a choice of 5 different entrees, homemade bread and visit to the Dessert Table where everyone helps themselves.

The afternoon section of your tour will emphasize the Delta’s African American Heritage. You will visit Ruleville, Fanny Lou Hamer’s home town, Dockery Plantation and Mound Bayou, a shinning example of African American enterprise and self-government.

5:30pm Estimated time of arrival back at the U of M. End of tour.

Terms & Conditions

Terms & Conditions: All prices are the total costs for the number of adults occupying the room in existing bedding. Rolloways are not included & may be at an extra charge if available. We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover & American Express. A $100.00 per person deposit is required to hold your space. Deposts are fully refundable until Aug 03 after which they are non-refundable. Full payment is due September 01 and is non-refundable after that.

Contact Us:

Postal Mail:
Sweet Magnolia Tours
P.O. Box 753548
Memphis, TN 38175

Telephone:
1-901-369-9838

Toll Free:
1-866-320-5295

FAX:
1-901-369-9839

E-mail:
memphis@sweetmagnoliatours.com