TAKE NOTE * From Staff Reports

The Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge will be the site of a Backwoods Bonanza from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m. Saturday. The event is hosted by the Tensas River Refuge Association.

Activities and entertainment will include Northgate paintball and the Cook Family. Admission is $3 per person and children ages 5 and younger will get in free. Donations are appreciated.

The Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge is located on Quebec Road off U.S. 80 in Tallulah. For information, call 318-574-2664.

Choctaw Indian Fair scheduled for mid-July

The 59th Annual Mississippi Choctaw Indian Fair is set for July 9-12.

Activities and entertainment will include the Choctaw Indian Princess Pageant, World Championship Stickball, Jason Michael Carroll, MercyMe and the Los Lonely Boys.

Tickets are $15 for adult season passes, $10 for adult day passes and student season passes, $5 for student day passes and free for children ages 5 and younger. Advance tickets are available through mid-June by calling 800-557-0711.

For a full schedule and more information, visit www.choctawindianfair.com.

Flea market scheduled at Laurel Fairgrounds

A flea market and antique show will be at the Magnolia Center at the Laurel Fairgrounds Saturday and June 22. On Saturday, the flea market/antique show will be from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m.. On June 22, it will run from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m.

The event is free.

For information, call 601-649-9010 or e-mail somsfair@bellsouth.net.

The Laurel Fairgrounds is off Interstate 59, at 1457 Ellisville Blvd.

‘Thieves’ Carnival’ heading to USM

“Thieves’ Carnival,” the first of three plays to be performed at the University of Southern Mississippi this summer, will be June 26-28, July 5, July 17, July 23, July 25 and July 20 at the Gilbert F. Hartwig Theatre on campus. All performances begin at 7:30 p.m. except for the July 20 matinee, which will begin at 2.

In the French comedy, a gang of thieves invade a resort town. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for senior citizens, USM faculty and staff and military, and $6 for students.

Call 601-266-5418, 800-844-8425, visit www.southernmisstickets.com, or purchase tickets at the box office an hour prior to the show.

MPB’s ‘Novelists’ series to kick off Thursday

Authors Kent Haruf, Tim Gautreaux and Tom Franklin will be featured in a two-part episode called “Novelists,” part of Mississippi Public Broadcasting’s original series “Writers.” The programs will be broadcast at 8 p.m. Thursday and June 26.

Thursday’s episode will explore the creative process as each novelist shares his method of putting ideas on paper. The June 26 episode will feature the authors discussing what happens after they write novels, from dealing with editors, agents and bookstores to giving advice for aspiring writers.

Haruf is a Colorado native and author of “Eventide.” Franklin is a Southern writer from Dickinson, Ala., who lives in Oxford and is the author of a collection of stories titled “Poachers,” which was named as Best First Book of Fiction by Esquire in 1999. Gautreaux, born in Morgan City, La., wrote “The Clearing,” which features images from the writer’s own childhood and has received critical acclaim.