FERRIDAY — After a six-week run, today is the last day the traveling Smithsonian Institute exhibit will be open to the public in Ferriday.

“New Harmonies,” an exhibit exploring American roots music, opened at the Delta Music Museum’s Arcade Theater Oct. 23 and will close at 4 p.m. today. Admission is free.

“Saturday we will start packing, and Sunday morning we will take it to Oil City, (La.,)” Delta Music Museum Director Judith Bingham said.

The exhibit features interactive kiosks detailing the evolution of American music from the time of the pre-European American Indians to the present.

“Everybody has had an excitement about it, especially the locals, because it isn’t very often they get a chance to view a Smithsonian exhibit,” Bingham said.

The museum also hosted weekly musical and educational performances to coincide with the exhibit, the largest of which drew a crowd of approximately 200, Bingham said.

“It has been an exciting experience. I feel like we have offered the area a diverse look at roots music through our performances,” she said.

For Bingham, hosting the exhibit was a lot of work, but it was worth it.

“We are very pleased with the exhibition,” she said. “We felt like it was hectic but we felt like it was beneficial for the community.”

The exhibit was brought to the Delta Music Museum through a partnership between the Smithsonian institute, the Louisiana Secretary of State’s Office, the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities and the Friends of the Delta Music Museum Foundation.

The next big project for the museum will be the annual Delta Music Festival in April 4, which will be followed by a performance by Mickey Gilley and his Branson show band April 5.

Ticket pricing for the Gilley show will be based on seating arrangement, and tickets will go on sale next Friday, Bingham said.

For more information, contact the Delta Music Museum at 318-757-9999.