2018 Mississippi Book Festival Announces Schedule

On Wednesday, July 11, the Mississippi Book Festival announced its lineup, which includes panels that cover topic such as food, race, literature and more. See the schedule here. The festival, also known as the “literary lawn party,” will be at the Mississippi State Capitol (400 High St.) on Saturday, Aug. 18, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Along with the panels, the event will have vendors, food trucks and more. For more information, visit msbookfestival.com. Continue Reading

2019 Mississippi Invitational Deadline June 30

 

The Mississippi Museum of Art will once again host its annual Mississippi Invitational in June 2019. In preparation for the event, MMA is asking for artist submissions, with a deadline of June 30, 2018. Artists who live in the state of Mississippi are eligible to compete and can submit original works in any medium. In mid-September, artists will found out if they have been selected, and then the guest curator, Kimberli Grant, will do in-studio visits in October and November. The museum will announce the final selection in December. Continue Reading

USA IBC Medalists

From June 11-21, 2018, dancers from the U.S. and performed through the different rounds of the USA International Ballet Competition. About 30 finalists performed during Round III from June 19-21, and finally, the winners received their medalists during an awards gala on Friday, June 22. The medalists are as follows:

Senior Division Medalists

Men’s Senior Gold Medalist—Sicong Wu, China

Women’s Senior Gold Medalist—Yunting Qiu, China

Men’s Senior Silver Medalist—Sangmin Lee, Republic of Korea

Women’s Senior Silver Medalist—Soobin Lee, Republic of Korea

Women’s Senior Silver Medalist—Katherine Barkman, USA

Men’s Senior Bronze Medalist—David Schrenk, USA

Women’s Senior Bronze Medalist—Chisako Oga, USA

Best Senior Couple—Soobin Lee & Sangmin Lee, Republic of Korea

Junior Division Medalists

Men’s Junior Gold Medalist—No gold awarded

Women’s Junior Gold Medalist—Elisabeth Beyer, USA

Men’s Junior Silver Medalist—Hyuma Kiyosawa, Japan

Women’s Junior Silver Medalist—Julia Rust, USA

Women’s Junior Silver Medalist—Carolyne Galvao, Brazil

Men’s Junior Bronze Medalist—Harold Mendez, USA

Men’s Junior Bronze Medalist—Joseph Markey, USA

Women’s Junior Bronze Medalist—Tia Wenkman, USA

Women’s Junior Bronze Medalist—Rheya Shano, USA

 

Special Awards

Robert Joffrey Award of Merit—Mya Kresnyak, Canada

Jury Award of Encouragement—Veronica Atienza, Philippines

Jury Award of Encouragement—Nicole Klaudine Barroso

Jury Award of Encouragement—Razmik Marukyan, Armenia

Choreography Award—Zhang Disha for “Sad Birds,” performed by Sicong Wu and Yunting Qiu

Choreography Award—Fei Bo for “Permanent Yesterday,” performed by Sicong Wu and Yunting Qiu

See jfp.ms/usaibc2018 for a gallery of Round III, Session III photos. Continue Reading

Official 2018 Mississippi Book Festival Art Revealed

On Tuesday, June 19, the Mississippi Book Festival revealed this year’s official art, an oil painting from Mississippi native artist Baxter Knowlton that features bestselling Mississippi author Jesmyn Ward. “Both artist and subject represent the best of our state,” festival director Holly Lange said in a release. “The works of these remarkably talented Mississippians reveal an intense love of their craft. We are grateful for their support of the festival.”

For more information about the festival, visit msbookfestival.com.   Continue Reading

2018 Crossroads Film Festival Winners

On Sunday, April 16, Crossroads Film Society announced the winners of the 2018 festival. Congratulations to all of the filmmakers! Here is the list:

Award for Best Feature Narrative—”Chasing the Blues”
Award for Best Short Narrative—”Recall”
Award for Best Feature Documentary—”Mississippi Madam: The Life of Nellie Jackson”
Award for Best Short Documentary—”Holt Collier”
Award for Best Experimental Film—”Reconstructing Reality”
Award for Best Animated Film—”Basket (Tokri)”
Award for Best Student Film—”Citizen”
Adam Ford Youth Filmmaking Award—”Minor Setback, Major Comeback: Supporting Black Dollars and Businesses in Jackson, Mississippi”
Award for Best Music Video— “Manna” by King Woman
Award for Most Transformative Film—”The Real Thing”
Programmers’ Choice Award—”Retaliation (Vindicte)”
The Ruma Award for Most Promising Mississippi Filmmaker—Mississippi Youth Media Project
Audience Choice Award—”How They Got Over”
Audience Choice Award (Music Video)—”Till I Cross Your Mind” by Young Valley 

“Lagniappe Awards” (Honorable Mention)

The Lagniappe Award is an Honorable Mention for filmmaking achievement, for content, and/or for sheer fun. The only criteria are that a programmer must nominate the film, and it must not have won in another category. Lagniappe Award winning films receive a certificate of merit and special Crossroads laurels. Continue Reading

Sewer Cave-in

The City of Jackson announced on Friday, April 13, that the sewer caved in at Northside Drive and Ridgewood Road. Here is a press release, verbatim:

The City of Jackson is aware of the sewer cave-in located at Northside Drive and
Ridgewood Road. Motorist are asked to be careful while traveling this area. The cave-in is due to a sewer line collapsing. We anticipate that the area will be down to two lanes for the next seven to 10 days while crews make repairs. Continue Reading

Ruth’s Chris to Close

Cooper Restaurants Inc., which owns Ruth’s Chris Steak House at Renaissance at Highland Colony Park, announced on Monday, March 26, that the restaurant will close. Here is a press release, verbatim:
RIDGELAND, MS, March 26, 2018 —Cooper Restaurants Inc. announced today the closure of the Ridgeland, Mississippi Ruth’s Chris Steak House location. The restaurant, located at 1000 Highland Colony Parkway was one of two Ruth’s Chris Steak House franchises operated by Cooper Restaurants. The restaurant opened its doors in July of 2008 and has been a cornerstone of the Renaissance Center at Colony Park. “We are honored by the support that we have received in Ridgeland, Mississippi over the past 10 years. Continue Reading

What to Do, March 19-23 Edition

Jackson has lots of stuff to do, as evident from our calendar. Here are a few events you could attend this week. Cabaret at Duling Hall—The Eclectic Guitar

Tonight, March 19, Local musician Barry Leach will perform original solo guitar pieces, as well as known songs. The event is at Duling Hall (622 Duling Ave.) at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25.  

Ideas on Tap: “Emerging Mississippi” in Arts & Culture

During Mississippi Humanities Council’s next Ideas on Tap, panelists such as Ginger Williams Cook, Phillip “DJ Young Venom” Rollins and moderator Garrad Lee will discuss young Mississippians in arts and culture. Continue Reading

What To Do This Weekend

Most of us will probably attend the Hal’s St. Paddy’s Parade & Festival tomorrow, but if you want to know what else is happening, here are some choices.  

“Point of Perception” Podcast Launch & Art Show

Tonight, March 16, Michele Mathis is launching her podcast, “Point of Perception,” which focuses on how people perceive the world around them. Along with a discussion about the podcast, the launch party will also feature work from local artists Justin Ransburg, Will Brooks, Kira Cummings, Lynlee Healing Webb and Managing Editor Amber Helsel. A portion of proceeds from art sales goes to The McCoy House for Sober Living. The event, which is free and open to the public, is at Jax-Zen Float (155 Wesley Ave.) from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.

 

Source: giphy.com

Jackson Garden Extravaganza 

Gardening friends! Continue Reading

Fondren After 5 Begins in April

For this year, the first Fondren After 5 has been pushed back to April 5. In a statement to area businesses and restaurants, Fondren Renaissance Foundation Executive Director Jim Wilkirson said that due to unseasonably cold weather and ongoing construction to sidewalks in the neighborhood, the event will begin later than usual this year. “Some area businesses may elect to start earlier than this date, and some may be open this month, but we will not officially publicize the event as a neighborhood until our kickoff on April 5.” Events for FA5 will center around three areas: Duling Avenue, State Street and Rainbow Plaza. The plan is to have Duling Avenue blocked off each month, activities in Rainbow Plaza from Hops & Habanas to Cups, and Sneaky Beans serving as the anchor for the State Street area, though these plans may change due to construction. Continue Reading