Articles by Jan Swoope
Quick, festive recipes, with a nod to Cinco de Mayo
With Market Street Festival coming up, the Golden Triangle has plenty of reasons to celebrate this weekend. Here’s one more: Friday is Cinco de Mayo.
Operation Gratitude: Messages to troops teach lessons in gratitude and service
“Dear soldier,” most of the brief letters begin. Penciled consonants and vowels formed with care by little hands may look a bit wobbly, but the sentiments expressed seem even stronger for it.
CAC Writers’ Series brings best-selling author to Golden Triangle
The Columbus Arts Council’s Writers’ Series welcomes New York Times best-selling author Richard Grant to the Golden Triangle Thursday.
Peace, love, music kick off Market Street Festival with ‘Riverstock’
The ’60s and ’70s were turning points when it comes to music. The 22nd annual Market Street Festival will celebrate that era as the two-day event opens with “Riverstock” at the Columbus Riverwalk at 7 p.m. Friday.
A Caledonia High tradition reaches out to all grads
Every spring, the small town of Caledonia in Lowndes County is the site of an event increasingly rare these days.
Chamber Singers make ready for concert, Scotland tour
Current rehearsals for Mississippi University for Women’s choral groups contain an added air of excitement as students prepare for a May 5 community concert.
‘Crooked handle spoon man’: Crooked is in style as the Hall family prepares for Market Street Festival
Dean Hall and wood go back a long way.
Singer-songwriter to share songs and stories of grace
Lori Sealy’s journey has been one of deeply personal lows and highs.
Auction, celebrity servers to benefit Starkville park project
J.L. King Senior Memorial Park in Starkville should soon see some enhancements, thanks to a celebrity wait night and silent auction presented by the Pilot Club of Starkville.
Starkville teen’s run on ‘MasterChef Junior’ comes to an end
Beef Wellington is a dish Mark Coblentz will remember for a long time to come
Youngsters run the show at annual Kids’ Fair
Skill games, lemonade stands, art stations, food and crafts vendors — it all sounds a lot like the small-town festivals so popular every spring. This event, however, boasts a twist: Kids are in charge.
Tasty ‘reading’: Library’s Edible Book Festival starts a delicious tradition
Celebrated author and scholar C.S. Lewis once said, “Eating and reading are two pleasures that combine admirably.”
Power of purple: A school campus takes up the Relay for Life cause and celebrates heroes
When Mitzi Brown was told in January she had breast cancer, it shook her foundations. In the span of a medical appointment, the mom and New Hope Middle School teacher acquired an intimidating adversary.
In the kitchen with Agnes: A love of cooking gets an extra boost at Easter
Agnes Zaiontz doesn’t need an excuse to cook up a veritable storm, but Easter does add extra incentive.
Roll cameras: Every craft has a story, and a TV show asks one Clay County folk artist to share hers
When Bessie Johnson saw a convoy of vehicles rolling up her driveway the last morning of March, one of her first thoughts was, “Oh, I’d better call a few of the neighbors because they’ll think something is wrong, wondering why are all those cars at Bessie’s house.”
Digitized letters provide snapshot of life in Columbus more than a century ago
Aging letters penned more than 125 years ago by a young Columbus girl open a window on local life during the late Victorian era.
Good eggs: Decorating eggs isn’t just plop, plop, fizz, fizz any more
Once upon a time, I came to accept the fact that there really wasn’t a benevolent bunny hopping around my yard once a year to hide pretty eggs in clever places.
Columbus mansion opens doors for Girlchoir home tour
An impressive Columbus home opens its doors to visitors Saturday, April 8 for tours and brunch from 10 a.m. to noon.
Public library to host a ‘tasty’ festival
A book festival of a different sort will take place at the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library at 10 a.m. Thursday, April 13.
Let’s talk tamales: A Columbus cook uses food to help her give back to cancer research
When Shannon Jones Bowen committed to walk 60 miles and raise $2,300 for breast cancer research, she wasn’t thinking about her homemade tamales.
Deputies searching for two suspects in Sunday double homicide
June 29, 2025
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