By Cody Thomason

The Vicksburg Post

The annual Ritz on the River will feature The Molly Ringwalds as the musical entertainment on July 19 at the Vicksburg Convention Center.

The announcement was made Wednesday at Mutual Credit Union, the major sponsor for the event.

This year’s theme is a retro prom, and the Molly Ringwalds bring a throwback sound that will mesh perfectly with the celebration. They cover a wide array of music from the 80s, coupled with all the glitz, glamour and showmanship flair that the era had to offer.

“We’re pretty excited for Ritz goes retro,” executive director of the Vicksburg convention center Annette Kirkland said.

This is the fifth year for Ritz on the River and Kirkland said that the retro prom theme wasn’t specific to any one era like the 70s or 80s, but rather it encompassed anything attendees considered retro.

Kirkland also said there would once again be a dinner accompanying the event, but that the celebration would be centered around The Molly Ringwalds performance.

“It’s about people having a great time, and that’s what Ritz is all about, is just a community coming together and having a great time and everybody looks forward to it,” Kirkland said.

With the success of last year’s roaring 20s theme to celebrate the 20^th anniversary of the Vicksburg Convention Center, the pressure was on to figure out another hit theme for the celebration this year.

“We were really excited that Mutual Credit Union again for the fifth year in a row decided to be our major sponsor,” Kirkland said. “Talking with them and trying to figure out a different twist on it, they really helped us. I threw out some ideas about the retro prom and I made the phone call to the agent for The Molly Ringwalds and we made it happen.”

The Molly Ringwalds formed in 1999, but found their footing playing in Louisiana and slowly built a fan base across other southern states like Mississippi and Alabama. Now, the band has been booked to bring the 80s back to life all across the U.S. and abroad in places like Germany and their home country of England. They cover bands like Duran Duran, David Bowie, Journey, and just about any other 80s band you can think of, with costumes and makeup to match the era and an energetic live performance.

This year the charity that will be benefitted by the event is Jacob’s Ladder, an organization that serves to help children affected by neurological disorders like Cerebal Palsy, Down syndrome and Autism.

Overall, the celebration will highlight the community and fun Vicksburg has to offer with a flashy musical guest to bring it all together.

“It’s a community event and there are media planners that are specially invited for this, to come over to see what all can happen in Vicksburg,” Kirkland said.

“A fun twist on a fun evening is what we’re really looking forward to.”

Tickets for the event go on sale April 9. Dinner show tickets are $50 (advance purchase only) and general admission tickets are $20 in advance, $25 day of the show. Tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.com, calling 1-800-745-300 or at the Vicksburg Convention Center box office.