October

Mostly because of the beautiful weather, all kinds of neat activities happen in October. Last weekend was the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN. I've been wanting to go to that for ages but never have. Next year I hope to get there. It's a big deal in storytelling events. Read about it HERE.

This weekend is the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville which is always interesting. Authors, panels of authors, books, music, and more books! Check it out HERE.

Helena, Ark, has the King Biscuit Blues Festival this weekend. I've mentioned this before. They finally got their name back and will be able to use it again next year. That's a story filled with litigation. Website HERE.

What is the Arkansas Blues and Heritage Festival?

It's when Delta Blues fans head on down to Helena, AR for 3 days of the best Blues in the Delta.

The King Biscuit Blues Festival began in 1986 as a one-day musical tribute to the Blues roots of Helena and the man at those roots, Sonny Boy Williamson. The "King Biscuit" in its name stems from the fact that Sonny Boy Williamson was a founding performer on King Biscuit Time,a live Blues program on the radio. The program was sponsored by King Biscuit Flour.

What started out as a small festival has gained a reputation throughout the nation and always draws a big crowd. Despite all the growth, the festival organizers have remained loyal to their roots. The festival is still dedicated to the Blues as performed by the musicians that were directly or indirectly influenced by Sonny Boy and his contemporaries. These artists include Pinetop Perkins, James Cotton, Robert Lockwood, Jr., Billy Branch, Kim Wilson of The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Anson Funderburgh and the Rockets featuring Sam Myers, Charlie Mussellwhite, Frank Frost, Sam Carr and a host of others.

The festival has four stages and it is estimated that over 100,000 people will be in attendance this year. They have dozens of Blues musicians and even a Gospel stage.

Brian, Melissa, and Brendan are going to the Stone Mountain Highland Games in Atlanta next weekend. WEBSITE I went one year and want to go back. It's so much fun to see the border collie demonstrations. They are so incredibly smart with natural herding instincts. If you ever get a chance to watch them in action, it's fascinating. The owner by voice or whistle commands them to sit and wait, select a specific sheep, herd him back, and then stay or do whatever the owner tells them to. Many of those guys look really hot in kilts, too! I just looked at the schedule and didn't see any events with the border collies. Sports, dancing, music, games, food, clan representatives, and booths. Lots of fun.

Then there's Oktoberfest this weekend in Nashville. I've been to that and enjoyed it. SITE

So what am I going to do this weekend? My granddaughter is in the area for a volleyball tournament I'm going to try to see some of. I have a meeting Saturday morning and decisions to make after that. Hope all of you have a wonderful weekend with beautiful weather.