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Council approves King Biscuit Blues Festival permit for October
Summary
The Helena City Council unanimously approved the event permit for the 38th annual King Biscuit Blues Festival in October after organizers outlined a reduced footprint, new security measures and partnerships to boost local attendance.
Organizers of the King Biscuit Blues Festival received city approval for their October event after presenting a scaled-down plan and security measures they say will protect attendees.
Chuck Mitchell, identified in the meeting as president of the Sonny Boy Blues Society, told the council the festival — in its 38th year except for two COVID years — has international reach and draws visitors from Europe, Japan and Australia. "We've been putting on this festival in Downtown Helena," Mitchell said, and this year the event has been reduced to two days with one main stage to encourage local participation.
Wes, the festival security lead, described layered security that will use private security inside the festival footprint, Helena city police in the surrounding outline area and Phillips County Sheriff coverage beyond that. He said the organizers will also ask state police to review plans and deploy a drone for perimeter monitoring. "If he sees a group of people congregating, he gets on the radio and says we've got congregation and pinpoints the location," Wes said.
Patrick, a festival representative, said the organizers are pursuing a new partnership with Clarksdale to support tourism and will lower ticket prices to encourage local attendance. "We've dropped ticket prices quite a bit to try to include the whole city," Patrick said.
Councilmember San Columbia moved to approve the event permit; the motion was seconded and passed on a roll-call vote showing six yes votes.
The council encouraged residents to attend and said the city will continue coordinating with organizers on safety plans and logistics. The permit approval was procedural; the council did not attach additional conditions beyond the standard permit review and the organizers will continue to work with city staff on operational details.
