BY Elizabeth Reid
Contributing Writer, Delta Business Journal

  Even though many tourists flock to casinos in Tunica County, thousands of tourist dollars flow through Delta festivals.
"Festivals always bring people in," said Cheryl Line of the Bolivar Chamber of Commerce.
  This month, when the 25th anniversary of the World Catfish Festival is celebrated in Belzoni, the town's population is expected to swell from 2,500 to nearly 20,000.
  Events such as ShowFest 2000, a car show scheduled May 20 and 21 in Greenville expected to draw 500 car enthusiasts, or the world's largest baby shower held April 1 in Washington County, may not draw as many tourists to the area as larger festivals, but still attract positive attention to the Delta, said Yvette Benson, administrative assistant for Washington County Convention & Visitors Bureau.
  "The positive publicity is priceless," said Benson.
  Blues Night Out at Airport Grocery with Willie Foster and local blues artists, will be held on April 28. It is the day before Crosstie Arts Festival, an annual town event held at the courthouse, followed by the Crosstie Blues Festival in Rosedale, said Line.
  "Each year, Cleveland devotes the fourth Saturday in April for local and regional artists to gather and display their paintings, sculpture and ceramics at the Crosstie Arts Festival," Line said. "Children's activities and art contests make the event one of the great days of Cleveland's year."
  The Leland Crawfish Festival in May draws mudbug lovers from all over and the projected attendance for the Mainstream Arts & Crafts on May 13 in Greenville is about 2,500 people.
  In Cleveland, people fly in to dine at K.C.'s Restaurant on special occasions, Line said.
  "The other 20 or more restaurants, in addition to fast food outlets in town, stay packed," she said.
Shopping in downtown Cleveland has been compared by at least one Memphis shopper as "what shopping in Germantown used to be like," Line said.
  In 1999, almost 70,000 people attended 193 events at Delta State University's Bologna Performing Arts Center, a $9 million fine arts and performing center with a 1,200 seat multi-tiered auditorium built five years ago. It has been compared to similar facilities in Memphis and Jackson. On Sept. 7, Little Milton will perform at the third annual Peavine Awards for Artistic Excellence in Mississippi Delta Blues, hosted by the center.
  "We may be off the beaten path, but in these past years, we are definitely in a cultural groove," said Sharon Papian, director.
Ron Hudson, executive director of the Clarksdale Chamber of Commerce and Coahoma Industrial Foundation, said the city is gearing up for a very busy summer. Clarksdale is home to the Sunflower River Blues Festival, Legends of Bluegrass Festival, Delta Jubilee, and the Tennessee Williams Festival.
  Festivals and numerous events are hosted at the 50-acre, $250 million Coahoma County Expo & Fairgrounds Center, which opened in 1998. About $3.5 million has recently been spent by the city and county for the continued development of Blues Alley, where the Blues Museum is located and which draws bus tours by the droves.
  Tunica County, Mississippi's fastest growing tourist destination spot that has flourished since the arrival of the gaming industry in 1992, is more than just casinos.  About 4,000 retailers, community managers and developers attended the 2000 South Central Manufactured Housing Show from March 29 to 31.
  "We were so proud to have the show in our state this year," said Jennifer Hall, executive director of the Mississippi Manufactured Housing Association. "This is the second year in a row that Tunica County has been designated as the site for the manufactured housing show that draws thousands of people from the Midwestern and southeastern states."
  The athletic programs at Delta State University in Cleveland and Mississippi Valley State University in Itta Bena draw many football fans in the fall. On Sept. 9, MVSU will host DSU in football, a tradition that should add tourists' dollars to area coffers.
"I spoke to (DSU president David) Potter about making it a Delta Classic," said Dr. Lester C. Newman, MVSU president. "This would spur economic growth and bring some excitement - and tourists - to the area."