Often when living in Vicksburg it becomes easy for one to forget what a truly rich culture we are surrounded by daily.

The events that take place in this city week after week and month after month display some of the finest talents in arts and culture around.

The Vicksburg Orchestral Society is partnering with the Southern Cultural Heritage Center to present “A Christmas to Remember” with the Mississippi Girlchoir Sunday.

The event, a sort of a dinner theater, will be comprised of a meal catered by Storycook Favorites and Christmas music by the orchestral society.

The River Kids afterschool art program held at SCFC is taking applications for students to begin attending in the spring.

Several bands and musicians play year round at Roca, LD’s, Walnut Hills and various other establishments around town.

Downtown we have multiple art galleries with exquisite pieces for sale and just blocks away the riverfront murals for the more casual connoisseur of the arts.

Most weekends one could easily find local actors on stage at the Strand Theatre or Parkside Playhouse or even one of the local high schools performing a classic musical or play or perhaps one they’ve written themselves.

The arts are a thriving part of the Vicksburg community, and they have influenced our city’s culture in so many ways.

We at The Vicksburg Post appreciate the thriving art community in Vicksburg and don’t want to see it dwindle.

We are patrons of local establishments that keep the arts alive in this city.

We teach our children the importance of the arts, so that they may grow up to continue the traditions that keep this city rich with the culture that’s been passed down from generation to generation.

We also realize the inspiring, cathartic effect practicing the arts can have in our own lives. While sometimes it’s just singing in the shower, we each express ourselves creatively in some manner. We are writers after all.

What will you do to promote the arts — be it painting, sculpture, architecture, music, poetry, theatre or dance — in your community and within your family?