Helena-West Helena Arkansas
Frequently Asked Questions
At the mooring near the historic centre, on the Mississippi. The Delta Cultural Center and Cherry Street are within walking distance of the landing.
King Biscuit Time, broadcast every weekday at noon since 1941. It is the longest-running daily blues radio programme, still performed live from the Delta Cultural Center: visitors can attend.
A state museum housed in a former railway depot, telling the story of the Arkansas delta: cotton, the river, community life and above all the birth of delta blues. It is the heart of the call.
The Delta Cultural Center and, if the timing matches, the noon radio broadcast. Then a walk along Cherry Street and a climb onto the levee for the Mississippi view.
The historic commercial street, lined with early twentieth-century facades from the days when Helena lived on cotton. Some are restored, others still waiting: the town does not hide its scars.
Yes. A strategic post on the Mississippi, the town was fortified by the Union army and attacked by Confederate forces. Trails and interpretive markers trace the positions on the hills.
Yes, a maintained path climbs the levee protecting the town. Rooftops on one side, the immensity of the Mississippi on the other: it is the best viewpoint of the call, and it is free.
The US dollar and English. Credit cards work at the museum and in shops; keep some cash for small counters.
Spring through autumn, the sailing season. The King Biscuit Blues Festival in October transforms the town for a few days; Arkansas summers are very hot and humid.
Moderately. The museum is lively and the live radio broadcast intrigues young visitors, but the call rests on history and music rather than children's activities.
