An advisory panel created to help boost downtown Vicksburg is hoping a trip up the Blues Trail will aid in finding a direction for the group.

Members of Downtown Partners, a panel created in March by Mayor Paul Winfield, voted Tuesday to visit the downtown areas of Clarksdale and Greenwood, towns similar in size to Vicksburg, to find ways to boost Vicksburg’s downtown area.

“We wanted to see other places,” said David Day, panel member and owner of the Klondyke on Washington Street. “Clarksdale has Ground Zero, Morgan Freeman’s restaurant. It’s a phenomenon. It’s attracted a lot of people to that area.”

Members have said before that seeing operations of small towns with thriving downtowns will give the panel a sense of direction in fostering more foot traffic along Washington Street. They plan to meet with an economic development agency in each town.

The panel hopes to visit by March, and expenses will be the responsibility of each member because the group has no income or budget.

Transportation will be provided by the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Other cities members said they would like to visit are Memphis, Shreveport and Tupelo, which Vicksburg Main Street Program Executive Director Kim Hopkins visited this year.

In other business, the panel discussed the idea of creating a museum in honor of the late bluesman Willie Dixon, a Vicksburg native who spent most of his entertainment years in the Chicago area.

“The Willie Dixon museum is a good idea, but we need to find a place to put it,” said Mark Doyle, panel member and owner of Burger Village on Washington Street.

Other suggestions included a craft store, a bakery, restaurants and a shop for locally made products.

The group of downtown residents and business owners has met monthly since its creation, but has made little progress in charting a course.