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The undisputed king of electric
blues is scheduled to play to a
packed audience Friday night at
Centennial Hall.

BB King is one of the most well-
known living blues musicians in
the world, and certainly the most
famous person to ever come out
of the tiny town of Itta Bena,
Miss.

The 2000 census pegged Itta
Bena's population at about 4,000
residents living within a 1.5
square mile area.

Yet the town still managed to
make it into the 2000 Coen
brothers film, "O Brother, Where
Art Thou?"

In the movie, a notorious
gangster terrorizing the the
Deep South stops George
Clooney's character Everett and
his crew and asks them how to
get to Itta Bena.

Name the gangster and the
actor who played him for a
chance to win a set of three
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Click here to submit your
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Creative recipes for homemade ice pops include, from left, white grape, white and red grape and orange and yogurt varieties.
Juli Leonard / Raleigh News and Observer
More Photos (1):
To learn more
Check out Krystina Castella's book, "Pops! Icy Treats for Everyone" (Quirk Books, 2008, $15.95). Castella is an industrial designer by trade, and it shows. She makes pops in the shape of rubber ducks, tiki masks, even skulls. She creates intriguing flavors from peanut butter and sesame raspberry to chai tea. She even has a chapter devoted to cocktail pops, such as mojito, mai tais and margaritas.
Tips for a great pop
Summer Bicknell and Krystina Castella offer these tips for your own pop experiments:
• Bases can be juices (homemade or store-bought), fruit purées, yogurt, pudding, ice cream, sherbet, coffee or tea. The last two have to be brewed to double strength because freezing dulls the flavor.
• Molds can be as fancy as the Tovolo brand ones, which come in grooved rectangles, stars and rocket shapes. Those cost about $10 at Bed Bath & Beyond and online. Otherwise, use plastic or paper cups, ice cube trays or silicone cupcake molds.
• The Tovolo molds come with sticks that snap onto the top of the molds. If you prefer wooden sticks, you will have to let the pops freeze for at least an hour before inserting the sticks so they will stand up straight.
• Freeze time depends on the type of mold. Ice-cube trays take two hours at most, while a stand-up mold will take eight hours.
• Always taste the pop for sweetness before freezing. Remember, freezing dulls flavors. If it tastes fine, add a pinch or two more sugar.
• Be careful when combining citrus flavors with yogurt. There is a chance the mixture might curdle, although we didn't have any trouble when we tested it.
• When adding an herb flavor to a pop, add the herb (rosemary, thyme, mint) to a heavy simple syrup. Bring two parts sugar to one part water (such as 1 cup sugar to 1/2 cup water) to a boil until the sugar dissolves. Add the herb at the beginning. When the syrup cools, strain the herb out and add as much syrup as necessary to the pop base.
• If you want to add chocolate chips, fruit or other edible items to the pop, don't use heavy items because they will sink to the bottom. Mini chocolate chips work better than regular-size chips.
• After removing the pops from the molds, wave them in the air for about 10 seconds to reharden the outer layer. Wrap each pop in a plastic sandwich bag and place all the pops in a larger plastic freezer bag to prevent freezer burn.
Mango Lassi Yogurt Pops
Serves: 6 (6-ounce) pops.
• 1 mango
• 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt (regular, low-fat or fat-free)
• 2 to 3 teaspoons sugar, or to taste
Peel mango and cut fruit away from pit. Discard pit. Purée mango flesh in food processor or blender. In a bowl, stir yogurt until smooth and creamy (no lumps). Add sugar and puréed mango and stir to blend thoroughly. Taste for sweetness. If it tastes perfect before freezing, add a pinch or two more sugar; flavors tend to diminish when frozen.
Pour into pop molds and freeze at least 8 hours. To extract, run hot water over bottom and sides of pop mold for 5 seconds. Repeat for 5 seconds if needed. Serve immediately.
Alternatives: Try fresh blueberries or strawberries instead. Generally, you need only 1/2 cup of fruit purée to 12 ounces yogurt. Just remember to taste for sweetness, as fruits vary.
Per serving: 52 calories; 3 g protein; 9 g carbohydrate; 1 g fat (13 percent of calories); 3 mg cholesterol; 0 g fiber; 33 mg sodium; 9 g sugar.
From Summer Bicknell of Locopops.
Strawberry Kiwi Fruit Pops
Makes: 4 (6-ounce) pops.
• 2 kiwifruit, peeled and cut into quarters
• 1 cup fresh strawberries, cleaned and hulled
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon sugar (or to taste)
• One drop vanilla extract
Purée kiwi and strawberries in food processor or blender with water and sugar. If mixture is too thick, add water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until mixture is easily poured but not runny. Taste for sweetness. If it tastes perfect before freezing, add a pinch or two more sugar, as flavors tend to diminish when frozen.
Pour into pop molds and freeze at least 8 hours. To remove from mold, run hot water over bottom and sides of pop mold for 5 seconds. Repeat for 5 seconds if needed. Serve immediately.
Per serving: 53 calories; 13 g carbohydrate; 1 g protein; 0 g fat (0 percent of calories); 0 mg cholesterol; 2 g fiber; 2 mg sodium; 9 g sugar.
From Summer Bicknell of Locopops.
Grape Pops
Makes: 6 (6-ounce) pops.
• 1 1/2 cups seedless red grapes, cut in half
• 4 1/2 cups white grape juice
Divide grape halves among the pop molds. Pour in the grape juice. If using wooden pop sticks, freeze for 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours and then insert the sticks. Continue freezing for a total of 6 hours. Remove from freezer. Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before removing the pops from the molds. Enjoy immediately.
Per serving: 140 calories; 35 g carbohydrate; 1 g protein; 0 g fat (0 percent of calories); 0 mg cholesterol; 1 g fiber; 10 mg sodium; 33 g sugar.
From "Pops! Icy Treats for Everyone," by Krystina Castella.
Southern Sweet Tea Pops
Makes: 6 (6-ounce) pops
• 4 cups water, divided
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 2 limes, peeled and cut into rounds
• 2 lemons, peeled and cut into rounds
• 12 sprigs of fresh mint
• 3 "family-size" or 8 regular-size bags Orange Pekoe Black Tea
Bring 2 cups water to a simmer in a saucepan over low heat, and stir in the sugar until dissolved. Remove from heat and add 2 cups cold water. Cool for 10 minutes.
Pour the sugar water into a clear glass container. Add limes, lemons and mint and stir. Add the tea bags. Cover and let stand at room temperature for 3 to 5 hours, or until the tea reaches the desired strength.
Remove the tea bags and stir the tea. Scoop out the lemons, limes and mint and divide them evenly among the pop molds. Pour in the tea. If using wooden pop sticks, freeze at least 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours and then insert the sticks. Let freeze for a total of 6 hours.
Remove from the freezer. Let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before removing the pops from the molds. Serve graciously.
Per serving: 240 calories; 65 g carbohydrate; 1 g protein; 0 g fat (0 percent of calories); 0 mg cholesterol; 2 g fiber; 8 mg sodium; 59 g sugar.
From "Pops! Icy Treats for Everyone," by Krystina Castella.
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Pop your summer

Break the mold with homemade ice pops in flavors like white grape, sweet tea, more
By Andrea Weigl
McClatchy Newspapers
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.08.2009
When you are sweltering, nothing tastes better than an icy treat on a stick.
A pop is the perfect break from those unavoidable outdoor chores that still demand attention this time of year or after a rigorous romp in the pool. Even if you aren't engaged in strenuous summer activity, it's a nice treat while relaxing on the patio.
But we thought we could do better than the rainbow-colored varieties in the grocery store's freezer section.
We were emboldened to try by two people: Summer Bicknell, owner of Locopops, a string of Mexican-inspired paleta shops in North Carolina that have served more than a half-million pops in four years, and Krystina Castella, the author of "Pops! Icy Treats for Everyone."
"There's a lot more to a pop than just Kool-Aid in a Popsicle mold," Castella says.
At Locopops, Bucknell creates such flavors as coconut ginger, pineapple basil, even Thai rice pudding. Castella's book offers recipes ranging from Thai iced coffee and Southern sweet tea to tiramisu and lychee bubble tea.
Frozen pops offer an opportunity to have some fun with your children in the kitchen this summer, to impress your friends with a unique dinner party dessert or palate-cleansing course, or simply to indulge what Castella calls your inner "kidult."

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