I hope this is the last time for a while we’ll need to talk about the cold weather. I’m not in a huge hurry for it to completely go away, because once it does we all know we’re in for outrageously hot weather until at least November. But I can live without any more ice or sleet, or freezing rain, or little dustings of snow, or just anything else coming out of the sky while temps are below
zero. It gets in the way of everything!

And it isn’t just school and work that the bad weather throws off-kilter. It also puts a cramp in the style of the many fun and educational things going on in town. And, folks, there’s a lot of them. Since coming aboard at The Post in mid-December, I’ve taken it upon myself to try and cover as many of the goings-on in town as I possibly can. One reason is, it’s just a fun part of this job. As important as what we call “hard news” is, at some point we all need a break from meetings, crime, fires, accidents, and all of the other important, but certainly not fun, aspects of the news.

Sometimes, we just want to see Ralph Miller play the guitar on a beautiful Saturday at the Crawford Street Stage, or watch a local artist like Kate Hamel Tucker teach a printmaking class at Catfish Row Museum. So, when weather we aren’t equipped to handle in this part of the world causes everything to pause, it impedes our fun as much as it does our progress.

But, we’re hoping this weekend’s cold weather will be much more mild than last weekend’s and we can get back to covering some of the many events happening around town.

Terri Cowart Frazier, who does a great job with our Vicksburg Living magazine — as well as many, many features for the regular edition of the newspaper — is currently all wrapped up with the first ever Beautiful Table Settings event in Vicksburg. It’s a really cool event and we’ve tried to keep you guys updated through both our print edition and on our website. In fact, you can read more about it and see more photos inside today’s edition.

Today (Sat., Jan. 20), Tucker, who I mentioned a moment ago, was back at the Catfish Row Museum for the second of her two printmaking classes — this time with a session geared toward kids. We’re very lucky to have talented people like Kate willing to share their gifts with us through this kind of event.

And that’s just the tip of the hopefully melting iceberg in town. You can check out our community calendar in Friday’s edition and find a little something for everyone! From Yoga and Zumba classes at John Houston’s Fine Wines and Good Spirits and Jackson Street Gym, respectively, to the always-educational Lunch and Learn events through our local extension office, to live music at Key City Brewing, you really don’t have to go far to find something for whatever you’re interested in going on right here at home.

And as the weather does get back to normal, the events are only going to ramp up, and we’re excited about that. Personally, I can’t wait to get to some of the events I haven’t covered yet. I’m enjoying learning about Vicksburg and Warren County and meeting all of you. So, come out and meet me at one of them. I’m the guy with the camera trying not to get in the way. It’s a lot of fun and I hope you’ll join us.

The sun is starting to come back out and we think you should, too!

Blake Bell is the general manager and executive editor of The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at blake.bell@vicksburgpost.com.