Press Release from Sunflower River Blues Association – 6/19/2011 – Panny Mayfield, publicist – pannywriter@yahoo.com

Crystal Hicks-Ramsey creates Sunflower Fest design

Clarksdale artist Crystal Hicks-Ramsey displays her award-winning design for the 2011 Sunflower River Blues and Gospel Festival that will be featured on t-shirts and posters for the August 12-14 celebration. Born and raised in Clarksdale, she is the daughter of Betty and Eugene Hicks and is currently a graphic artist and a nursing student at Coahoma Community College. A graduate of Clarksdale High School, she taught art at Higgins Middle School from 2003 to 2006. Hicks, the mother of one, entered the festival’s design competition requesting artists to interpret the Sunflower’s 2011 memorial tribute to six key figures contributing to the festival’s success for more than two decades: James Alford, Michael James, Wesley Jefferson, Big Jack Johnson, Sarah Moore, and Foster ‘Tater’ Wiley. The Sunflower is celebrating its 24^th year as a free festival supported by grants, donations, and staged entirely by volunteers. For updates, view the Sunflower website: www.sunflowerfest.org that is maintained as a donation by award-winning webmasters 305 Spin of Sedalia, Missouri.