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Over its 21 years, the Great Delta Bear Affair has grown and improved, but its founding purpose has remained the same. The mission of the Great Delta Bear Affair is to bring attention to black bears and their native habitat and territory in Mississippi’s South Delta, to celebrate Teddy Roosevelt’s famous 1902 black bear hunt in Sharkey County, to promote the Rolling Fork/Sharkey County community and its diverse array of resources, history, and heritage, and to celebrate it all with a great … [Read more...] about Great Delta Bear Affair announces 2022 schedule

Great Delta Bear Affair 2022 will take place, live and in -person , on Saturday, October 22nd.  Mark your calendar now and make plans to attend the 22nd GDBA festival in downtown Rolling Fork! We'll be back with great musical entertainment, food vendors, arts and crafts vendors, and all the usual extras like Prehistoric Mound tours, Dayton Scoggins - chainsaw carver extraordinaire, and Terry Vandeventer with his Mississippi Snake seminar. You can run, walk or bike the 5K, and you can strut your … [Read more...] about Mark your calendar for October 22

The Chuckburger Eating Contest will celebrate its fourth year at the Great Delta Bear Affair on October 22. This signature sandwich from local eatery Chuck’s Dairy Bar is a hamburger dressed with chili, slaw and pickles. The contest is sponsored by Chuck’s Dairy Bar and will take place on the Main Stage at 11:30 a.m. The contest draws an enormous crowd to witness who can eat the most burgers in only 5 minutes! The winner will receive $100 and a one of a kind trophy. Registration is on site … [Read more...] about Chuckburger Eating Contest

Archaeologist Sam Brookes is no stranger to Rolling Fork and the South Delta. As a member of the Great Delta Bear Affair planning committee, he has been conducting prehistoric mound tours during the festival for the past 17 years. Brookes with his extensive knowledge and passion has led many tours through the area for interested parties. He has participated in archaeological fieldwork on several sites and has authored over 30 articles on Mississippi Archaeology. On October 26, during the … [Read more...] about Prehistoric Mound Tours during the Great Delta Bear Affair

Great Delta Bear Affair 2019 will give back to the Sharkey-Issaquena community by pledging all donations collected at the entrances to the festival area to help those affected by this year’s months-long flood. With hundreds of homes affected by the Yazoo backwater flood, a long-term recovery fund has been established through the Community Foundation for Washington County. Any money donated to this fund will go to help people in Sharkey, Issaquena and Humphreys counties who are uninsured, … [Read more...] about Bear Affair Pledges Money to Flood Recovery

In honor of the historic black bear hunt by President Theodore Roosevelt, the teddy bear, and The Great Delta Bear Affair, Governor Phil Bryant has proclaimed October 27, 2018 as Teddy Bear Day in Mississippi! ---------------- WHEREAS, in 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt went to the Mississippi Delta to hunt black bear, but he refused to shoot a tethered bear; and WHEREAS, a political cartoon memorialized this incident for posterity; and WHEREAS, the owner of a New York City toy … [Read more...] about Governor Bryant Proclaims Teddy Bear Day in Mississippi