Above: Dave Crews preparing a course at the Italian Festival Dinner   

Upcoming Events

April 3 - April 28 - Delta State University's Art Dept. presents it's annual Student Art Show

April 16 - Crosstie Arts Festival  

April 16 - 19 - "Hairspray" performed at CHS Auditorium  

April 30 - Earth Day and the Great American Clean-Up  

April 30 - B.L. Bell Academy Ice Cream Social at the Gazebo Downtown from 12:00pm - 4:00pm 

Above: Children watching Mr. Watermelon Head at the Italian Festival 

Please be sure to check the Quick Links in the right column for other events.

Above: Children participating in the children's grape stomp at Italian Festival 

Crosstie Arts Festival 

Above: 5K Run at Crosstie

A Delta tradition continues TOMORROW (Saturday-16th) under the oaks of the Bolivar County Courthouse in Cleveland, Mississippi. The Annual Crosstie Arts and Jazz Festival, a juried fine arts show, will feature over 100 exhibitors displaying paintings, sculpture, pottery, fabric and paper designs, hand-made furniture and jewelry. The festivities will start off  with the annual 5k Run/Walk. The race begins at 8:30 a.m., and all ages are invited to participate. Pre-registration for the race is $20 and $25 on the day of the race. At 9:45, the annual Crosstie Children's Fun Run will take place on the east side of the Bolivar County Courthouse.  Registration begins at 9:00 and all participants will receive a ribbon and snacks from Denton's Dairy. There will be live music playing all day.  Bands will begin at 9 a.m. and will play until 4:15 p.m.. There will be two different stages - the main stage and the jazz  stage. On the jazz stage, the Delta State University Steel Drum Band,  Amalgamation and Kristian Dambrino are just three of the six acts performing. Southern Halo, Blue Mother Tupelo and M.O.S.S. are three of the seven bands that will be performing on the main stage.

Above: Pottery from Crosstie

In addition to the live music stages, there will be a children's area stage. Some of the activities available in the childrens area include performances from Mr. Watermelon head and Steve the Magician.  We will also have face painters, balloon art, play dough area, sand area, and a chalk art contest sponsored by Delta Arts Alliance.  ALL activities for children are FREE.  The Children's Area is also once again hosting "Crosstie's Got Talent" and any child 18 or younger can compete for a cash prize!  We also have 14 Mississippi Authors that will be at Crosstie this year selling and autographing their books.  When you get hungry for lunch, we have over 17 food vendors ready to serve you anything you could possibly want..  For more information, go to www.crosstie-arts.org or LIKE our facebook page titled CLEVELAND CROSSTIE ARTS AND JAZZ FESTIVAL or email us at crosstiefestival@yahoo.com.

Above: Steel Drum Band at Crosstie 

Great News For DSU 

Above: Students enjoying the festivities at DSU's Springfest 

Delta State officials pleased with results of Legislative session

Despite last year's bleak budget forecast, Delta State University, along with Mississippi's seven other public universities, will fare much better than expected with the 2012 budget. The FY 2012 proposed budget reduces the universities' budgets less than two percent from FY 2011 appropriations.

"While a budget cut is never good news, the contrast is striking between this figure and the earlier projections given to the universities," said Delta State President Dr. John Hilpert.  "Whether from the Governor, the State Economist, or the IHL Staff, we had previously received notice of estimated cuts for next year ranging from a high of 17 percent ($3.6 million) to a low of 12 percent ($2.5 million).  These larger amounts were the basis for planning on this campus and at all the universities."

In addition to money allocated to the university, three university departments received line item appropriations.  The Delta Center for Culture and Learning received $150,000 while the E-Learning Center received $350,000.  Also, the Commercial Aviation Department received $675,000 which is a $105,000 increase over the previous year's appropriation.

The Legislature also approved an additional $10,850,000 in bond funding for campus construction projects. Of this total, $10,000,000 is allocated to the repair, renovation, expansion, and furnishing of Caylor-White/Walters Hall and to the repair and renovation of campus buildings, facilities, infrastructure and the continuation/completion of previously authorized projects, and $500,000 is allocated to Phases II and III of the fire station located near the University's Aviation facilities on the west side of Cleveland.  The Delta State Athletics Department will receive $350,000 to upgrade facilities at Horace McCool Stadium. The funds have been allocated for the construction, furnishing, and equipping of restroom and concession facilities on the visitors' side of the stadium. "These bond appropriations are crucial to our continued progress, and are the direct result of our outstanding state relations efforts," said Hilpert.

"I am very pleased with the results of this year's Legislative session," said Dr. Michelle Roberts, vice president of University Relations who is in charge of Delta State's state and federal legislative efforts."Everyone at Delta State has been very helpful in putting together information needed to support our requests, and, because of our efforts, Legislators responded favorably.  We greatly appreciate everyone's support and are pleased that the outcome of the Legislative session will result in a more positive budget planning process for the campus."

Above: A group of students gathered enjoying the entertainment at DSU's Springfest

Coach Pitch Region III World Series 

Earth Day and The Great American Clean-Up 

Earth Day and the Great American Clean-up will be April 30.  Public Works will be accepting appliances, paint, insecticides, tires, batteries and other hazardous materials from 8:00am until 2:00pm.  The Department of Environmental Quality will be on site and this event is for the entire community.  Trucks for disposal will also be at the Cleveland High School and Eastside High School parking lots.

The Great American Clean-up will be the morning of April 30.  Interested groups/individuals will meet at the Gazebo at 8:30am and will be assigned an area to clean up.

Contact us:

Judson Thigpen-Executive Director

Anne Dilworth-Team Cleveland and Special Events Coordinator

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