Live blues music. Plant-a-Wish Celebration. 1Mississippi Exhibit. Live carving demonstration. Canoeing and kayaking on the Sunflower River. Introducing Stand Up Paddleboards to the Sunflower! Canoeing Workshops and Rentals. Guided Adventures on the Mississippi River. Full Moon Float Sunday.
2011 Juke Joint Festival April 14-17
Clarkasdale, Mississippi
- 1Mississippi — Can the River Count on You?
- Paddling on the Sunflower River
- Canoe-Carving Demonstration & Workshop
- Quapaw Canoe Company River Stage
- Plant-a-Wish Celebration Saturday
- Full Moon Float Sunday 3-10pm
All events will meet & take place street level 3rd & Sunflower in downtown Clarksdale all day 9-4pm every day Thursday April 14 – Saturday April 16, Full Moon Float 3pm – 10pm Sunday April 17.
1Mississippi — Can the River Count on You?
Quapaw Canoe Company
9 am to 4 pm
Ongoing Exhibit and Southern campaign headquarters for the 1Mississippi River Citizen Program. Come on over and learn about how you can help protect and better the waters of America, our drinking water, swimming water & lifeblood of the nation. Become a River Citizen and join us in making the Mississippi River sparkle like the beautiful “Queen of Rivers” that she is.
Paddling on the Sunflower River
Quapaw Canoe Company
9 am to 4 pm
Canoe or kayak or SUP. Paddle the beautiful (and muddy!) Sunflower River through downtown Clarksdale with the “back-door view” of Red’s Lounge, The Riverside Hotel. Possible run through a Delta Wilderness with a take-out at Hopson Plantation. Meet Location: Quapaw Canoe Company, 289 Sunflower (Third Street & Sunflower, opposite Sarah’s Kitchen). Contact: 662-627-4070 or 902-7841. See below for options & rates.
Canoe-Carving Demonstration & Workshop
Quapaw Canoe Company
9 am to 4 pm
Location: Quapaw Canoe Company, 289 Sunflower (Third Street & Sunflower, opposite Sarah’s Kitchen). Contact: 662-627-4070 or 902-7841. KIPP Dugout Canoe being finished up for the KIPP Delta College Prep School of Helena, Arkansas.
QUAPAW CANOE RIVER STAGE (Sunflower Ave. & Third St. @ the river)
11am – Bill Abel
Noon – Cadillac John & Bill Abel
1pm – Anthony “Big A” Sherrod
2pm – Eddie Cusic
3pm – Adam Gussow & Shine Turner
4pm – Rotten Belly Blues Band
Plant-a-Wish Celebration (Saturday 12noon)
Saturday during Quapaw Music Stage. Plant-a-Wish is traveling to all 50 states to plant dreams & trees. Plant-a-Wish works with local communities to participate in a ritual of writing wishes on scraps of paper and plant them with the indigenous trees. This simple act is having a profound effect on people who are now feeling a little more connected to the local habitats they call home. They have already planted historic wish trees in 25 states. www.plantawish.org
Full Moon Float Sunday 3-10pm
Meet at 3pm at Quapaw headquarters 289 Sunflower Avenue in downtown Clarksdale gear up, and then shuttle to Montezuma Landing, which is directly above Friars Point. We’ll paddle by the last light of day to Island 61 where we’ll make supper and watch the sun set over the waters of Old Town Bend. Shortly thereafter we’ll witness moonrise over the main channel of the Mississippi as it makes the turbulent escapade below Kangaroo Point. After supper, we’ll push off into the shimmering waters of the river, the darkness of the boils highlighted by shining whirl lines, boil lines, and moon reflections. By moonlight we’ll paddle around Old Town Bend, and then silently slip in between Is. 62 and 63. Sometime around midnight we’ll cut into the channel below Island 63 and meet our shuttle driver Ellis Coleman “Mr. Smooth Dancer” at Quapaw Landing.
Description: Paddling on the Sunflower River
Intro: Beautiful paddling through downtown Clarksdale, and upstream & downstream as well. Re-discover Clarksdale from its main artery, the Sunflower River. Back-door view of riverbank blues places like Red’s Juke Joint and the Riverside Hotel. Get close to Mississippi Delta Wildlife such as fish, turtles, snakes, frogs, song birds, birds of prey (mainly hawks & owls) wading birds & other waterfowl, occasional deer, possum, armadillos, raccoon & beaver. Flat water. Easy paddling. Guide service available. Do your own paddling & shuttling or we can provide canoes, kayaks and shuttle service. See below.
5 paddling options on the Sunflower River:
1) Downtown Clarksdale “Back-Door Blues Shuffle & Turnaround” (1-3 miles): Start off downstream under the Railroad Bridge and paddle behind Red’s , Martin Luther King Park, the Riverside Hotel, and make a u-turn under the blues highway, Highway 61. Paddle back. Flexible timing, you decide how fast you want to paddle, and how soon you want to turn around. Leave from Sunflower Landing (behind Quapaw Canoe Company).
2) Downtown Parks & Wilderness (1-3 miles): Paddle upstream behind City Hall, around Soldier’s Field and enter the rich Cypress forest hidden along the banks of the river. You will be amazed by the variety of wildlife and thriving floodplain ecosystem. Paddle up to the Duckwalk Park and make turnaround for a leisurely paddle back downstream. Leave from Sunflower Landing (behind Quapaw Canoe Company).
3) Clark Park to Sunflower Landing (3 miles) Leisurely 3 mile paddle into downtown Clarksdale through some of the woods & neighborhoods north of town. Owls & beavers. Paddle through the cypress, oaks & sycamores of the Duck Walk. You’ve never seen downtown until you’ve seen it from the river! Put-in at Clark Park (Lee Drive & Friars Point Road). Take out at Sunflower Landing (Public Parking just downstream of 2nd Street Bridge). Shuttle available.
4) Clover Hill to Sunflower Landing (10 miles) 3-4 hours of paddling. Wild & remote-feeling. Great views of Coahoma County as it used to look. Paddle through woods & fields for miles and not see anyone. No people or buildings until you get close to Clarksdale. Lots of deer, ducks, owls, hawks, and migrating birds. Put in at bridge near Clover Hill. (turn off Friars Point Road at Kenoy’s and go East half mile on Farrell-Eagle’s Nest Road. Park on SE side of the 2nd Bridge. Put in below bridge. Take out at Sunflower Landing (Public Parking just downstream of 2nd Street Bridge)
5) Sunflower Landing to Hopson (6 miles) 2-3 hours of paddling. Leave downtown Clarksdale and paddle under the Railroad Bridge behind Delta Wholesale Hardware, Red’s Juke Joint, the Riverside Hotel, 61 Highway – you will see why the Sunflower River has the blues! The river alternates between short narrow passages with clogged channels through submerged trees and long pools bordered by big trees and wide fields. The banks are thick with hawks, owls & deer. Put in Sunflower Landing
(Public Parking just downstream of 2nd Street Bridge). Take out at Hopson Bridge
Rental & Shuttle Rates
Canoe Rental Half Day: $35/canoe with paddles & life jackets for 2 people
Canoe Rental Full Day: $70/canoe with paddles & life jackets for 2 people
Kayak or SUP Rental: $35/person/trip with paddle & life jacket
Shuttle Rates (per person with canoes & kayaks):
Sunflower Landing – Clark Park: $15
Sunflower Landing – Clover Hill: $25
Sunflower Landing – Hopson: $25
20% off for Friends of the Sunflower River in current good standing!!!