While many Vicksburg and Warren County residents rested Monday, other area residents and visitors to the River City used the final day of the Labor Day weekend to visit the many museums and attractions the city has to offer, like the Old Courthouse Museum and the Vicksburg National Military Park, while others tried their luck at the city’s four casinos.

And while people may call Labor Day the unofficial end of the summer, it can also be called the unofficial beginning of fall. The Labor Day weekend is only the beginning of a very active fall season for Vicksburg, and several coming events in October that will draw visitors back downtown to visit and shop.

Three events occur simultaneously Oct. 3, with Vicksburg Main Streets’ sixth annual Bricks and Spokes bicycle ride, the 21st Downtown Fall Festival and the Old Court House Museum’s 31st Annual Old Court House Flea Market.

Bricks and Spokes features rides of 10, 30, 50 and 62 miles on a course that takes riders across the U.S. 80 bridge over the Mississippi River into Louisiana and through Vicksburg and Warren County before returning downtown for a lunch of red beans and rice.

The Fall Festival, which takes place on Washington Street, will feature arts and crafts and signals the start of the fall Vicksburg Farmers’ Market at the corner of Washington and Jefferson Streets.

A longtime signature event in Vicksburg, the Old Court House Flea Market features arts, crafts and food booths placed along the courthouse square surrounding the city’s Old Court House Museum.

A week later, on Oct. 10, the 27th annual Over the River Run will take runners and walkers across the Mississippi into the Louisiana and back.

These events, sprinkled with others like the United Way of West Central Mississippi’s Color Run fundraiser Sept. 18, and the Y’s Men’s Oktoberfest, Sept. 20, will provide plenty of family-oriented activities to attend and participate in leading into the Christmas season with its variety of events like the annual Downtown Christmas Parade and the Southern Cultural Heritage Foundation’s Annual “Classics in the Courtyard” programs on Fridays in October and November and the Holly Days Arts and Crafts Show in December.

Vicksburg is sometimes criticized by residents as having nothing to do in the way of activities and events. That is definitely not the case when you consider the fall lineup starting in a few weeks with the United Way’s Color Run and ending with the flurry of Christmas season events waiting in the wings as residents catch their breath from the summer months.

Add in the regular cultural events like movies and plays at the Strand Theatre, blues performances and other weekly events at local restaurants and other venues.

The fall will be an active one. Get your rest now and then get out and enjoy the events and programs the city has to offer and support our local organizations and merchants.