Food, music and fun: It's time for the biggest event of the year in Henderson, Kentucky

HENDERSON, Ky. – It’s the week before Father’s Day, and you know what that means in Henderson: the W.C. Handy Blues & Barbecue Festival returns to Audubon Mill Park downtown beside the river.

Now in its 31st year, the free Handy Fest will feature familiar crowd favorites — red beans & rice night on Thursday, the Street Strut on Saturday morning, for example — along with a few new twists.

“Hopefully it will be as big as it was last year,” Handy Fest veteran and 2022 Chairman Kenny Perkins said.

“I would say it was overwhelming,” Perkins said of the 2021 festival which returned after being called off in 2020 because of Covid.

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“We thought it would be a small crowd, but it was one of the biggest crowds we’ve ever had,” he said of the 2021 event. “Everyone was ready to get out. We ran out of almost everything. We sold out of shirts.” When the 2021 T-shirts sold out, organizers brought out the 2019 shirts; when those sold out, earlier vintages were put on sale.

“We sold out of every shirt we had if I’m not mistaken,” Perkins said.

Looking ahead, “The music lineup is really great this year,” he said. For the first time in nearly three decades, longtime music chairman Dorin Luck didn’t lead the charge in booking bands. “(Former festival chairman) Brian Bishop did a great job taking over for Dorin,” Perkins said. “We hope to have a great crowd. We hear a lot of people say the music lineup is great.”

Headliners include the Nick Moss Band and Blood Brothers featuring Mike Zito and Albert Castilglia on Friday night and Sugaray Rayford and Ronnie Baker Brooks on Saturday night.

As usual, the week begins with Handy Lunch Breaks featuring a variety of local artists performing at restaurants and other venues in and near Downtown Henderson.

The main stage in Audubon Mill Park lights up on Wednesday evening with three bands performing.

Thursday evening’s Zydeco Night features a new name — Rex Jewell’s Red Beans & Rice – named in honor of the recently deceased longtime Handy Fest vendor chairman who oversaw the preparation of red beans & rice and other Cajun treats for nearly 30 years.

In addition to the signature Cajun menu item, the event — which is a major fundraiser that helps keep the festival free — will include the sale of bread pudding, regular and andouille sausages and jambalaya. As usual, Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band will be the headliner on Thursday night.

“Come down and get your groove on Thursday night and come enjoy the free festival,” Perkins urged.

Meanwhile, “Java shakes (the coffee-flavored milk shakes that are a Handy tradition) are still there” this year, Perkins said. “I think that’s one of our staples, besides Chubby.”

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Local and traveling food vendors will be selling on the street all day Friday and Saturday. “At last count we had 16 vendors,” he said.

The Handy merchandise trailer will sell festival T-shirts and other souvenirs.

Once again, the Henderson County Public Library will provide a variety of activities for youngers, including the Instrument Petting Zoo at 4 p.m. Wednesday. “Members of the Evansville Philharmonic will bring instruments that kids can touch and play,” the library’s associated director, Amber Potts, said. “There won’t be tubas that they can put their mouths on. It will be like xylophone and drum sticks.”

The library will also provide other kids’ activities all week long. “There will be different crafts (such as chalk for drawing sidewalk art), some games, oversized board games, a cornhole set and organized games” such as minute-to-win-it games for young and old alike, Potts said.

“Just find the bookmobile by Rockhouse on the River” on Water Street to locate those activigties, she said. “While kids are doing crafts, we’ll have charging stations so mom and dad can charge their phones.”

Saturday morning will see the William Branaman Street Strut People’s Parade, this year organized by the Periodic Table Dancers, a group of retired teachers and other school employees that includes two past winners of the Grand OOH-PEE-DOO grand prize for the most sensational New Orleans Dixieland strutter: Susan Jenkins McVicar and Paige O’Nan, who won the title last year.

The previous organizer of the Street Strut wasn’t available this year, so retired teacher Tiffany Gold Sights approached her fellow Periodic Table Dancers (who compete each Monday night at the trivia contest at Rockhouse on the River) about organizing this year’s Street Strut, even though some of the women have never participated in it before.

“We were not going to let it not happen,” Sights said. “We’re all about Henderson.”

Street Strut activities will begin at 8 a.m. Saturday on Water Street with free breakfast and a workshop that will provide materials to help strutters decorate umbrellas, various conveyances and themselves.

After participants start lining up around 9:40 a.m., the William Branaman Street Strut People’s Parade (named for the original Grand OOH-PEE-DOO) will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday on Water Street beside Audubon Mill Park. It will wind through a portion of downtown while Soul N The Pocket returns to perform Dixieland-style music.

Prizes will be awarded for:

• Grand OOH-PEE-DOO

• Best Decorated/Creative Umbrella (adult and child)

• Most Spirited Strutter (adult and child)

• Best Group

• Best Decorated Bike

• Best Decorated Baby Stroller

• Best Decorated Wagon

• Best Decorated Golf Cart

• Most Spirited Pet

Also returning this year will be a half-pot for festival-goers. “That went over well last year,” Perkins said.

Certain rules apply at the Handy Fest again this year, including no pets and no coolers. A full list of rules is available at HandyBlues.org.

W.C. Handy Fest events schedule

Here is a look at the times and dates for key events:

Handy Lunch Breaks & Happy Hours

Tuesday Lunch Breaks

Metzger's Tavern: Maggie Hollis Music from 11 a.m to 2 p.m.

Rockhouse on the River: Dave Redmon from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and the Honey Roy Trio from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Homer's Barbecue: DJ DJ from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Tuesday Happy Hours

On Deck Riverside Bar & Grill: Drew Aud and Brandon Crawford from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Rockhouse on the River: Honey Roy Trio from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Wednesday Lunch Breaks

Rockhouse on the River: Zion with Tim Austin from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Henderson County Public Library: Jesse Moore from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Sidewalk Cafe: Spencer Bloodworth from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

On Deck Riverside Bar & Grill: Beyond Blu from 1 p.m. and 4 p.m.

Homer's Barbecue: Pitmaster Josh West from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Cap N Cork: Dave Redmon from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Wednesday Happy Hours

On Deck: Beyond Blue from 1 to 4 p.m.

Homer’s BBQ: Dekar & Co. from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Thursday Lunch Breaks

Rockhouse on the River: Rigdon & Jines from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

On Deck: Drew Aud and Brandon Crawford from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Homer's Barbecue: Spencer Bloodworth from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Cap N Cork: Dave Redmon from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

Thursday Happy Hour

Homer’s BBQ: Loops & Rhythm from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Handy Fest music schedule

Wednesday

5 p.m. Blues 4 U

7 p.m. Ally Venable

9 p.m. Ghost Town Blues Band

Thursday

4 p.m. Heath & Molly

5:30 p.m. Dwayne Dopsie & the Zydeco Hellraisers

8 p.m. Chubby Carrier and the Bayou Swamp Band

Friday

12 p.m. Boscoe France

1:30 p.m. Dustin Douglas & The Electric Gentlemen

3 p.m. The Cold Stares

5 p.m. King Solomon Hicks

5:30 p.m. Rex Jewell’s Red Beans & Rice

7 p.m. Nick Moss Band

9 p.m. Blood Brothers featuring Mike Zito and Albert Castilglia

Saturday

8 a.m. Free breakfast and Street Street workshop on Water Street

10 a.m. William Branaman Street Strut People’s Parade (begin in Audubon Mill Park)

12 p.m. Amelia Eisenhauer

1:30 p.m. Ghalia Volt

3 p.m. Kat Riggins

5 p.m. Eddie 9V

7 p.m. Sugaray Rayford

9 p.m. Ronnie Baker Brooks

This article originally appeared on Henderson Gleaner: Food, music and fun: Handy Fest this week in Henderson, Kentucky