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CONSERVATION CORNER
(For the week of October 20, 2008)
Great Delta Bear Affair
by James L. Cummins

The Teddy Bear and the South Delta go hand in hand. Rolling Fork, Mississippi will be the site of a national celebration this year – the 7th Annual Great Delta Bear Affair. This year's theme will be “Bearing it All for 150 Years: The Legend and The Legacy.” The festival will be held on October 25 from 9:00 a.m. until dark on the grounds of the Sharkey County courthouse. Rolling Fork is located on Highway 61. It is 45 minutes south of Greenville and 45 minutes north of Vicksburg.

The main purposes of the festival are to raise awareness about the plight of black bear in Mississippi, highlight our state’s bountiful natural resources along with its cultural and historical heritage and commemorate Theodore Roosevelt’s famous 1902 bear hunt that gave rise to the Teddy bear. This year it will also celebrate what would have been President Roosevelt’s 150th birthday.

President Theodore Roosevelt and his savvy guide Holt Collier tromped through the woods of Sharkey County in search of bears. They found one, and the rest, as they say, is history. The Great Delta Bear Affair is one of the most unique festivals in Mississippi.

Many people attend the annual festival each fall and enjoy many seminars, special events and other various entertainments. There will be storytelling with Doris Jones, a live snake demonstration by Terry Vandeventer and a seminar on the black bear with Brad Young, a State Black Bear Biologist with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks. Special events this year will include a birding tour on Yazoo National Wildlife Refuge, a 5K Run/Walk, the second annual Black Bear Bicycle Ride and chainsaw woodcarving demonstrations.

Entertainment on the main stage will begin at 9:00 a.m. with the Sharkey-Issaquena Mass Choir and will conclude at 7:00 p.m. with an amazing display of fireworks. During the day, there will be other entertainment such as Miss Brittany's School of Dance, the Theodore Roosevelt National Wildlife Refuge Dedication and an Elvis impersonator. Delta favorites providing musical entertainment will be the King Edward Blues Band, Eden Brent, The Grayhounds and many more. There will be arts and crafts vendors and many of your favorite festival foods.

Since 2002, the Great Delta Bear Affair has helped educate many people about the history and current status of the black bear in Mississippi. Make time to take part in this celebration that promotes the return of the Louisiana black bear to Mississippi. For more information about the festival, call (662) 873-6261.