The Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau has received a $9,000 Mississippi Development Authority tourism grant to help boost interest in Vicksburg150.com, the city’s website promoting the sesquicentennial anniversary of the siege of Vicksburg.

VCVB executive director Bill Seratt announced the award at a meeting of the VCVB board Thursday.

He said the grant money will be combined with a $9,000 match from VCVB and $18,000 remaining from an earlier $100,000 National Park Service Preserve America grant to develop promotions and advertising encouraging people to visit Vicksburg150.com.

The website features a video on Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant’s campaign to Vicksburg, and a calendar of events outlining the Friends of Raymond’s Vicksburg re-enactment, Oct. 19 to 20; the 21st Annual Port Gibson Heritage Festival in March; and the sesquicentennial event in May 2013.

In other action, the board:

• Heard a report from Seratt on the VCVB’s branding program. He said Nashville-based NorthStar, which has a $62,000 contract to develop a branding program for the bureau is expected to present its proposal in the next 10 days to two weeks.

• Learned that the VCVB will host 14 travel writers from Europe and Australia for a one-day program on Oct. 14.