Organizers of the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area are inviting Delta residents to participate in the Exchange: A Regional Planning Forum set for November 7 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Delta State University in Cleveland.
“The Exchange is an important step in planning for the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area,” said Luther Brown, director of the Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University and manager of the National Heritage Area. “We named this event the ‘Exchange’ to emphasize that the national heritage area will only succeed by working together to preserve, commemorate and share the Delta’s important stories.”
The Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area’s management plan will guide the heritage area’s work for the next 10-15 years. The forum will offer group discussion sessions that will contribute to strategies for the plan including historic preservation, natural resource conservation, interpretation and education, preserving living traditions, visitor services, tourism promotion and organization/management. Each session will include brainstorming ideas, discussing opportunities and identifying the role of the heritage area. Each of the session topics will be repeated four times during the day, giving participants the opportunity to select up to four group discussions to participate in.
“The success of the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area depends on the engagement of many people,” Brown said. “We invite anyone who is interested in the Mississippi Delta’s heritage and culture to attend.”
Registration forms can be found at www.msdeltaheritage.com or by calling 662-846-4312. The deadline for registration is October 19. Admission to the event is free.
Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area
As authorized by Congress in 2009, the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area includes 18 counties – Bolivar, Carroll, Coahoma, DeSoto, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Leflore, Panola, Quitman, Sharkey, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tunica, Warren, Washington and Yazzo. The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University in Cleveland is the program manager for the management planning phase. The Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area is governed by a board of directors representing agencies and organizations defined in the Congressional legislation. For more information, visit www.msdeltaheritage.com.
