BENTONIA, MS—The Mississippi Statehood Bicentennial stamp, featuring the hands and guitar of local blues artist Jimmy “Duck” Holmes in action, returns to the roots of its image, as the U. S. Postal Service offers two days of commemorative cancellations coinciding with the 45th Annual Bentonia Blues Festival.

On Friday, June 16, fans of the stamp and music may obtain the special postmark at the Mississippi Blues Trail Marker, adjacent to the Bentonia Blues Café, where the venerable Holmes is the long-time performer in residence. On Saturday, June 17, the scene shifts to the Blues Festival, whose popularity and attendance has outgrown the original Blues Café setting into the open air venue it now enjoys.

Hours of availability for the postmark, as well as many other Mississippi Statehood Bicentennial commemorative items, are 8:00-11:30 a.m. and 12:00-3:30 p.m. on Friday, 11:30 a.m.-4:00 p.m. on Saturday.

“This stamp honoring the 200th birthday of our state, my home state, has helped tell the world there is nothing more synonymous with Mississippi than the birth of blues music,” said USPS Mississippi District Manager Elizabeth Johnson, a native of nearby Yazoo City. “And, the image of Jimmy ‘Duck’ Holmes and his guitar playing the blues has embodied the spirit of that tradition so well, we are tremendously excited to be in Bentonia at the heart of it all.”

For those who can’t make it to Bentonia or the Blues Festival but still want to celebrate the Mississippi Bicentennial, the stamp is on sale at Post Offices nationwide, with stamps and keepsakes both available online at https://store.usps.com/store/.

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