delta cultural center

If you arrive at 12:15pm Monday through Friday you will experience the "King Biscuit Time" hosted by "sunshine Sonny Payne. It is an experience of going back to early delta blues radio of "singing in a can." Sonny Payne may even call you to come inside the little radio station and be on the air with him as he plays old delta blues music. The King Biscuit program has run continuously for over 60 years (their current broadcast was #17,000+ ."

The staff at museum was very friendly and helpful. We went for purpose of viewing photo exhibit concerning Hugo and Gayne Preller's "House of Light". About life on the White a River in early 1900s. Very interesting.

The Delta Cultural Center in West Helena Arkansas houses KFFA radio station. THE DJ, Sunshine "Sonny" Payne hosts the King Biscuit Time show on every day from 12:15 pm to 1:00pm. Sonny has been hosting this iconic blues music show since 1951, but he has worked for the station since 1941. Visitors are welcomed to sit in the audience as Sonny plays songs and interviews musicians in the genre. If you are visiting the area it is a must to step back in time at the station with Sonny.

This is a small museum but you can learn all about the delta and how it grew by spending a little time here.History is broken down nicely and there are many places to sit and relax while visiting.There are two different buildings and you should check them both out.

We visited the museum and found it to be excellent. The building dedicated to the Blues was extremely interesting and we were introduced to Bubba who has hosted a radio show dedicated to the Blues for several decades and enjoyed his show today.We then walked down the street to their second building and reviewed the history of Helena both during the Civil War and the time that it has been in existence.This is a must view if one visits Helena.

The Delta Cultural Center is making a difference in the city of Helena-West Helena. The center cares for 7 sites, 2 have exhibits about the delta, the music and the rich history of area. The new exhibits in the Welcome Center are diverse and meaningful. Thanks to all, you are doing great work.

The delta cultural center offers many insights into the history of the delta, the music, the nature and the vast changes over the last 200 years.

The train station and the cultural center both are full of history - the train station is more of the development of the area and civil war information where the center is about the blues and its history in the area - both are well worth the time to visit - they are both free.

If you're on the Blues Trail, make this one of your stops.It is one of the better exhibits on the trail, and be sure to visit around noon on a weekday so that you can enjoy the live broadcast of King Biscuit Time. Sunshine Sonny Payne is a sweet man and will let you sit with him in the booth. He interviewed us on air too! You will be part of history instead of just reading about it.

Give yourself one and a half hours to look at all of the excellent displays. Covers the history of the blues, the geography, the culture of the area.

Always love these visitor centres - every state and region has its own characteristics and with limited time like I had on this "drive-by" trip, this centre made it easy to better understand the local history and culture

Spent the day in Helena and went to both parts of the Delta Cultural Center. One section of the center is part of the visitor center and the second section is nearby at the depot.Went to the the visitor center section first. Now this is a small museum,but set well. The first section when entering is about the Civil War engagement in the Helena area. Uniforms, weapons and articles of daily life of both sides are displayed. The other areas deal with the rich music heritage of the area. It starts with the harsh life of slavery and songs and music. On the opposite side highlights area blues and gospel singers. Also front and center is the world known King Biscuit Time.A short walk up the street brings you to the depot location of the Delta Center. This section focus on the Civil War in more detail (second floor) and the people, the land and the Mississippi river.The depot is located in an original historic building restored with the charm.Mr. Howard on the depot section was very welcoming in greeting when entering and gave suggestions on other places to visit in the Helena area. However at the visitor center, the woman working the area early afternoon didn't acknowledge when entering. We returned after 4:00 p.m. and the second worker greeted us soon as we entered and ask did we need info.The bathroom was very clean, which is a big thing with me.There is no charge and donations are encouraged. There's more parking at the depot section and both are less than a five minute walk between each other.The gift shop has a wide selection of music from local and regional artists along with the usual gift shop fare.Great way to enjoy the Helena area.

What a great place. FREE too. Good display and histiry of civil war, heritage and agriculture plus Mississippi steam and industry. Facinating stuff. The town itself was a bit of a ghost town when we visited - just after the Blues Festival. Shops in area were shut however centre gift shop open with some interesting pieces.

Southern hospitality - fantastic music.... amazing weekend spent in Helena. We walked in the footsteps of music legends and watched history being made.

I live near downtown Helena and have visited the Delta Cultural Center a number of times over the years. Helena has a population of 12,000, so do not expect a New York quality museum. But, the DCC has a very good exhibit detailing the history of the Arkansas delta and on a number of occasions will have traveling exhibits that are outstanding. The DCC is housed in an old train depot and the annex is in a new building across the street. If you go the annex at the right time, you will see Sunshine Sonny Payne on the radio doing the King Biscuit Blues Hour, which, if I am not mistaken, is the longest running blues radio show in the nation.0