Cleveland

Rocking right along

Photography by Matthew Wood

Marking the geographic center of the Delta, Cleveland has long been known for its commitment to the arts. And that dedication is paying off now as the city makes plans for the GRAMMY® Museum Mississippi, a venue to honor all genres of music and Mississippi’s role in their development.

Lucy Janoush of the Cleveland Music Foundation explained it began as a community effort for a museum featuring Mississippi artists, so the committee sought input from Indianola’s B.B. King Museum. Cleveland advertising executive Allan Hammons of Hammons & Associates worked as the project manager on that six-year, $15 million project. Hammons saw the potential and pitched the idea to the GRAMMY® Museum in Los Angeles, and it struck a chord. His firm is now serving as the new museum’s project manager.

“We are rocking right along,” said Janoush. “It’s a huge thing for Mississippi. We have more Grammy winners per capita than any other state. You can trace all American music back to Mississippi.”

Janoush explained the foundation asked the state for $6 million to help fund the new museum. The city is contributing another $3 million, and the county will also make a financial commitment. Private funds are being solicited a well. She estimates the cost at $15 million for the 200,000 square foot museum, but explained most of the money will go into exhibits, which will be highly interactive.

Delta State University will host the museum on its campus, close to the Delta Music Institute, the only accredited music industry studies program in Mississippi. In addition to museum staff, students will have the opportunity to work at the museum, as well as take part in a student exchange program with the L.A. museum.

“There are lots of student resources available,” said Janoush, explaining Delta State President Dr. John Hilpert is exploring integrating other majors with the museum, including business, marketing and computer technology.

“This is world-wide known,” said Janoush. “It’s not just Mississippi. GRAMMY® is a world-wide brand.” Both she and Hammons estimate the timeline at approximately 48 months. “If all the stars align correctly, it might be less,” Janoush said.

Naturally, the GRAMMY® Museum Mississippi is expected to have a huge impact on tourism. Long known for the Blues, the new museum plans to capitalize on country and rock and roll as well, claiming Mississippi native sons such as Jimmie Rogers, Bo Diddley and Elvis Presley. “The opportunities are enormous for us,” Hammons said.

Cleveland/Bolivar County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Judson Thigpen hopes to attract some of Graceland’s 700,000 annual visitors, encouraging them to travel down Highway 61, visiting Tunica, Clarksdale, Cleveland, Indianola, Leland and other places of interest to music tourists, including the B.B. King Museum and the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale.

“I think it’s going to be a tremendous boon, not just for Cleveland, but the Mississippi Delta,” Thigpen explained. “It makes us a destination. We’ve always had a lot going on, but this actually makes us a destination location.”

“Come on further south,” Janoush encourages visitors. “Not everybody is a Blues fan, but GRAMMY® is not Blues specific. It’s all genres of music.”

Mayor Billy Nowell sees the Grammy Museum as a benefit to the whole Delta. “We’ll get a lot of repeat business,” he predicted, with exhibits changing every three to six months. Exhibits will come to the Cleveland museum directly from the L.A. museum, along with educational workshops, said Janoush.

In addition to tourism, Hammons sees an element of economic development in the new museum. “I view the efforts as one more way of working collectively to reinvent the Mississippi Delta,” he said. “I’m optimistic all these things will collectively elevate all of us. We really are just one big neighborhood. What’s good for Cleveland is good for Greenville, and what’s good for Greenville is good for Cleveland, and all the other communities. We’ve got to think that way.”

There is more happening in Cleveland besides the GRAMMY® Museum Mississippi. Last year the city hosted the 8 and 9 year-olds World Series three-day baseball tournament. This year it is hosting the 11 and 12 year-olds Dixie Youth All Stars, a six-day, 16-team double elimination tournament from July 27 to Aug. 2.

Thigpen anticipates about 1,000 visitors will travel to Cleveland for a minimum of three days and possibly longer, looking for things to do, places to eat and venues to shop. “It’s a real opportunity to show the community off,” he said.

At the end of May, 1,100 Teach for America volunteers descend on Delta State for training. While they are busy with classes throughout the week, on Friday afternoon Thigpen said they’re ready to hit the town’s hot spots.

Cleveland has a few new places for them to visit this year. H Squared is a new retail shop downtown and the Mosquito Burrito restaurant will take the place of Delta Hardware.

In the last three to four years, Nowell estimated sales tax revenues were up at least eight to ten months out of each year. “That’s the best barometer I have,” he said.

Things are moving a little bit. We’ll see a lot more of that as we get closer to the GRAMMY® museum. It’s a tremendous opportunity for entrepreneurs, and an opportunity for local people to get involved in the business community.”

While Nowell said the GRAMMY® museum has been the city’s focus, there is plenty of other activity in Cleveland. “We’re not going to let any other facet of what we’re doing be neglected,” he said. The town puts a strong emphasis on investing in infrastructure, something residents and visitors can both appreciate.

City Administrator John Lindsey detailed a runway extension from 4,000 to 5,000 feet planned to start this fall at the Cleveland Municipal Airport, allowing larger planes and smaller corporate jets to land locally. Until now, these planes had to land at other area airports, with the passengers driving into Cleveland. Most of funding for the $8 million project is through the FAA and MDOT, with a small percentage paid by the city.

The city is also extending its walking trail on the green strip where the railroad used to come through town, said Lindsey, and it is spending $800,000 to add a bicycle trail covering 22 acres. Another less noticeable change is a transition in the mosquito abatement program, moving from in-house services to outsourcing the work.

“There’s a lot going on,” Lindsey said. “It is exciting. Everybody is proud of Cleveland. We have good leaders that have kept it that way and continue to do so.”

There’s plenty of excitement about a particular celebrity on Delta State University’s campus—attracting the attention of Sports Illustrated, ESPN and Yahoo!. The university’s new marketing campaign is geared toward attracting students, but takes an unusual route—and an unusual star—to reach them.

“They need something that’s going to really catch their attention and be different. We wanted it to be fun and showcase different aspects of the university,” said Dr. Michelle Roberts, executive assistant to the president. The university used current students to help develop the program. “They were very excited about it from day one,” said Roberts.

“Fear the Okra” commercials began last fall and uses the Delta State’s unofficial mascot, a life-size okra, to promote the school’s nine football national championships and its $6.2 million aquatic center, along with its commercial aviation and nursing programs. A new spot promotes the Delta Music Institute. Roberts said the commercials have received more than 30,000 hits online.

“I don’t think we ever thought it would be this big,” said Roberts, referring to the national interest the program has garnered. “Our application numbers are up, our campus visits are up, pretty much in every area we’ve seen an increase.” And when large groups visit campus, the okra mascot is sure to make an appearance, welcoming guests and taking photographs.

“Cleveland is a very giving town,” explained Nowell. “Once we get behind a project, everybody buys in 100 percent and does everything they can to make the project work better. It’s a team effort.”

One of those teams is the Delta Arts Alliance, with its mission of integrating the arts into daily life. Last year more than 5,000 children in 300 classrooms in grades pre-K to 8 participated in arts education thanks to this organization and its partners Crosstie Arts Council and the Cleveland Junior Auxiliary, said Hilda Povall. Its 29-member board served more than 3,000 volunteer hours to make the program a reality.

The Delta Arts Alliance also sponsors the 4x4 program where children ages 12 to 18 are exposed to music, dance, drawing, acting, photography and other artistic mediums, as well as summer programs for children ages five to 12.

In 2003, the Delta Arts Alliance obtained the Ellis Theater in historic downtown Cleveland and began renovating it into an art gallery and multi-functional space as grants and matching funds became available. Today the front of the theater features exhibits of work by local artists. “We are just delighted that our corner has become a lovely place to drive by,” said Povall.

And it’s not just Cleveland that’s constantly growing and changing. The rest of Bolivar County is progressing as well. West of Cleveland in Rosedale, the historic Bolivar County Courthouse is getting a facelift. According to Will Hooker, Bolivar County Administrator, the renovation will focus mainly on restoring the foundation.

“Currently the north wall is being held up with external beams. It has a nine inch separation from the wall,” he said. “We’re going to fix that and renovate all the unused offices that had to be vacated because of it. After the renovation, we will relocate the Tax Assessor and the Circuit Clerk to their original intended offices.”

Repairs will also be made to the roof as well as some of the interior walls. Hooker said the $1 million project will give Bolivar Countians the chance to both utilize and enjoy the beautiful Courthouse once it is restored to its former glory.

North of Cleveland, Shelby is working to beautify their small town.

“Right now the city is engaged in a clean-up,” said Harold Billings, city councilman. “We have the county here assisting the Shelby Department, and we have lots of people volunteering.”

There is also a group in Shelby working to revitalize the community’s school district. The North Bolivar County Schools Foundation is an organization dedicated to the towns of Shelby, Duncan, and Alligator. It began as a school program, but has since expanded to include community activities such as a community based newspaper and classes in Spanish, physical education, dance, yoga, woodshop, and art. The group also takes students on trips to visit colleges.

As Mississippi’s second largest county in regard to land mass, Bolivar County continues to move forward in a variety of ways. From the uniqueness of Delta State and its many offerings, to Bolivar County’s proximity to other towns in the Delta, to its increasing tourism business, Bolivar County is in a perfect position to expand in the future economically. DBJ