Blues Fest includes shag dance contest

Brush up your dance steps and show off your shag. You might win money.

A shag dancing contest with a $100 prize is part of Blues Fest on Saturday, August 10, at the Orange Boat Ramp's Riverside Pavilion. The dance contest will be part of a day and evening of music featuring local musicians and professional blues bands.

The headliner is LJ Echols, known for his blues and Southern Soul. He grew up in a small town in Mississippi in a musical family and started a gospel group. After a successful gospel recording, he moved to Texas and began playing R&B, blues, and soul. Through the years he has been nominated for several awards and played with artists like Bobby Blue Bland.

Echols will play from 8 p.m. to 10 p.m., with the shag dance contest set for 9 p.m.

The free family event is being sponsored by the Stars of Gate City No. 57 and Gate City Guild No. 42, along with a variety of businesses. People are invited to bring lawn chairs and enjoy the entertainment. No outside drinks will be allowed. Vendors will be selling food and drinks.

The festivities begin at 10 a.m. Saturday with the Wipe & Shine Car Show featuring a variety of vintage cars on display. Trophies will be awarded to winners in each category. The car show will end at noon when the focus will be on the entertainment.

Mayor Larry Spears Jr. will give the opening prayer at noon with the Orange Blossom Dancers on stage at 12:20 p.m. A group of singers from the Orange Community Players will sing at 1 p.m., followed by local guitarist-singer Shon Branham at 2 p.m.

At 4 p.m., Victoria Chanel will be performing, and then at 6 p.m., Summer Wolfe and the Mississippi Players will play. She was nominated in 2016 for Best New Artist and Video of the Year by the National Southern Soul Foundation.

Ishmael Jack of Orange will serve as master of ceremonies. Benitris Edwards is head of the Stars of Gate City and worked to organize the festival with a team of volunteers. They plan to make Blues Fest an annual event.