Head to Natchez for a Magical Spring Fling

It may be an age old event, now in its 80th year, but it’s one of those things that just improves with age.  Spring Pilgrimage in Natchez begins on March 10th and runs through April 14th, and it is the time when the doors of some privately owned antebellum homes open to the public for tour, and the smell of fragrant flowers follows Pilgrims through the hallowed halls of these historic haunts.  Nightly entertainment is available in the form of the Natchez Historic Tableau, Southern Road To Freedom, Southern Exposure, and Romantic Music of Natchez.  For more information on tour tickets, which houses are available for tour each day, and the nightly events, please visit www.natchezpilgrimage.com or call 800-647-6742.

Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration

Stories about the South have been told in a hundred different languages around the world, and this years Literary and Cinema Celebration turns its focus to Storytelling as it is, and has been, conducted in the South.  What makes the writers from the South such iconic authors, is the way they tell their stories, and their methods are evident in stories like Willie Morris’ My Dog Skip and Eudora Welty’s The Robber Bridgegroom.  Literary greats from around the region will lecture on a variety of storytelling methods of legendary authors of the South such as William Faulkner and Richard Wright, and how those styles affected the scripting styles of authors of contemporary Southern literature.  John Grisham, Ernest Gaines, Anne Rice, and Greg Iles are just a few of the prolific writers who have developed their authoring skills in the light of their great predecessors, and made their own marks on literary history and storytelling in the South.  The NLCC runs from February 23rd, starting with a 1:30 – 5 p.m. pre-conference screening of Tell About the South: Voices in Black and White, which will be narrated by Rita Dove, Professor of English at the University of Virgina, and culminates on February 26th with an oral history workshop and screening of Crazy Heart, a film by this years Horton Foote Award recipient, Scott Cooper.  For more information and details regarding lectures, please visit the NLCC website and click on the brochure link.  The site address is www.colin.edu/nlcc

Artists to Exhibit at Local Natchez Studio

On January 28th from 5 – 8 p.m., Conner Burns will share his studio with three other clay craftsmen who will be exhibiting a variety of their own works.  This is a “one evening only” event and is open to the public and free of charge.  The Natchez Project is a convergence of selected artists in Natchez for the purpose of exploration and creation of artwork. The intention of the Natchez Project is three-fold: to provide time and space for artists to create without distractions, to allow interactions between exceptional artists and to provide an exhibition of art. Lynn Smiser Bowers of Dallas works within a functional format and includes varied and often intricate surface designs.. Her artwork is exhibited throughout the United States and she is a highly sought after workshop teacher. Steve Hasslock of Covington, La., incorporates a variety of techniques that create a rich and varied surface and story. He has been active in the art world for decades and has experienced a vast array of processes and methods in the world of clay and in other media. His large-scale installations, intimate vessels and everything in between can be found throughout the country. And last, but not least by any means is Billy Ray Mangham of San Marcos, Texas, who seems to spend a significant amount of his time in a whimsical world of sculpture. During his 36-plus-year career he has exhibited internationally and has been celebrated by artists, critics and museums alike. He would tell you more about his artwork, but he is busy in his studio and at his “eye-of-the-dog art center.” Mangham spends his time creating fascinating creatures, teaching others to work with clay and hosting workshops and artists in a variety of media.

Natchez Project Art Exhibit

These 3 creative talents were awarded fellowships for the 2012 Natchez Project held annually at the studio of Conner Burns. Burns teaches workshops internationally to professional and amateur artists, and his works have been featured in books about teapots, bowls, glazes, cups and pitchers and has received awards from galleries, art festivals, art associations and national clay organizations. Burns’ work has been exhibited widely and is in collections across Europe, Asia and the United States. He makes vessels that are single fired and glazed with natural glazes that are subtle in color and texture. Information, call 601-446-6334 or go to www.connerburns.com.

Natchez Gets European Coverage

As hectic as the week of the Great Mississippi River Balloon Race is, the Natchez Convention and Visitors Bureau hosted 14 foreign travel writers who spent a week visiting parts of Mississippi during a FAM tour.  FAM is a travel industry slang term for “familiarization”, and Natchez hosts a number of them throughout the year.  During this particular FAM, travel writers from Norway, France, Germany and the Netherlands wereescorted by David Nicholson of Britain, and Wolfgang Streitberger of Germany, who partner as promoters of Memphis and Mississippi through their company, Deep South USA.  During their visit to Natchez, the writers visited a few antebellum homes, took a bus tour through the city with a local step-on guide, and spent some time viewing the historic photographs of Natchez at the Stratton Chapel.  Lunch was provided for the group by Natchez Coffee Company and the group dined at The Castle from a fixed menu.  After dinner, they rounded off their stay with a night cap at the historic Under-the-Hill Saloon.  Some of them have already chronicled their trip in articles for theirrespective publications and we’re sure that more are to come.  Here is one of the articles which were forwarded to the Natchez CVB by Mr. Nicholson, written by the Dutch writer, Inge Lundgeren.

Dutch Article resulting from Fall FAM Tour

Christmas In Natchez…City of Lights

Just after Thanksgiving, Natchez seems to come to life with the flip of a switch.  On Friday, November 25th, following a Turkey Gumbo Contest which begins at 4 p.m., the spirit of Christmas fills the air as the switch is flipped to light the city’s Christmas tree which stands 50 feet high in the center of downtown.  Strings of white lights atop the downtown buildings are also turned on to make the City of Lights begin to put on its holiday best. There are a number of fun events to attend during the season too, most of them free and open to the public.  For more details on all the season’s events, log onto www.christmasinnatchez.com and browse through the events so you can make plans to attend caroling, ice skating, fireworks displays and more as Christmas in Natchez unfolds through the end of 2011.

Natchez Logo Items as Great Christmas Gifts

If you love promoting Natchez when you travel, or have friends living in other parts of the country on your Christmas list, then make a trip to the Natchez Visitor Center. There you will find a great selection of logo items with the official Natchez logo printed or stitched on them like ball caps (golfers would love), t-shirts, tote bags, treats, and more. The shop also carries a great line of home accessories and decorative items, many stamped with the ever popular fleur di lis symbol that is synonymous with the region and our great neighbors to the South, New Orleans. There is a great line of t-shirts for kids, each with unique colloquialisms only heard in the South printed on the backs, transforming a simple t-shirt into a quirky conversation piece. There are just too many great gifts to name them all, so take a few minutes from your day and stop by to check out all the awesome inventory.

Angels and Elves on Slate for November

It is almost a waste of words to say anything about Angels on the Bluff at this juncture, as most of the tickets are sold out for November 11th and 12th. However, the tickets sold out so quickly, and the demand for tickets was so great, that event organizers decided to add a two hour window on Thursday night to allow those who missed out an opportunity to attend the highly coveted event. If you are interested in attending on Thursday, November 10, call the Natchez Visitor Center locally at 601-446-6345 or toll free at 800-647-6724.
Regarding the “Elves” mentioned in the title, believe it or not, Christmas In Natchez actually begins in November and continues through New Years Day. There are so many events taking place during Christmas in Natchez, it is too difficult to include them all in this blog. For a complete schedule, you can either visit their website at www.christmasinnatchez.com, e-mail us at info@visinatchez.org, or call Natchez Pilgrimage Tours at 800-647-6742. A new addition to the Christmas line-up is a skating rink that will be available in early December. Check out all the great events taking place, and make plans to come shop for unique Christmas gifs and some family holiday fun.