Possum Town Tales Storytelling Festival is Sept. 23-27

A good storyteller can transcend time and place, as the Possum Town Tales Storytelling Festival audience a year ago could attest. The phenomenon happens again Sept. 23 through 27 when the Columbus Arts Council presents the third annual festival at the Rosenzweig Arts Center at 501 Main St.

Hazard Series celebrates 50 years of music on HA’s 50th anniversary

The Hazard Lecture Series hosted annually at Heritage Academy turns its focus to music with two free presentations on consecutive Mondays, Sept. 29 and Oct. 6 at 7 p.m.

A Columbus school celebrates the half-century mark

Meredith McClanahan Fraser remembers the dress in the 35-year-old photograph as though it were yesterday. It was the color of peaches, and an 11th-hour find.

Fraser was flipping through a 1979 annual at Heritage Academy Wednesday, alongside her daughter, 1999 graduate Elizabeth Yates and 4-year-old grandson Bayn Yates, who attends junior-kindergarten.

The tailgate nation is out in force — the feasting has begun

Around these parts, folks love a tailgate. No matter your team allegiance, the recipe for success is the same: good food and good company make for good times. Divide up the tasks, bring plenty of ice and, for goodness sake, don’t forget the meat.

Listen for it: This busy group takes the music to the people

Ears close to the ground have detected a new cadence in the rhythms of Columbus this past year or so. It emanates from a re-energized group, the Trinity Singers from Trinity Place Retirement Community.

OzLand offers encore after premiere is sold-out

Those who missed getting tickets to the Sept. 4 premiere screening of “OzLand” before it sold out have another opportunity to see this first feature-length film by award-winning independent filmmaker Michael Williams of West Point.

TWT tour opens doors to Victorian era

Following a collection of events both entertaining and educational this next week, the 13th annual Tennessee Williams Tribute in Columbus will culminate Sept. 14 with a tour of Victorian homes.

CAC presents Grammy-nominated violinist Sept.18

Julliard-trained violinist Jenny Oaks Baker made her solo orchestral debut in 1983, when she was only 8 years old.

Freezer Pleaser, block party part of Recovery Month celebration

September is National Recovery Month. The observance educates the public to the fact that addiction treatment and mental health services can enable those with a mental or substance use disorder to live healthy, rewarding lives.

Reclaiming Real Food: This weekend retreat will change your relationship with food for good

Common sense isn’t so common any more, specifically when it comes to our relationship with nutrition. As a whole, we are a nation hooked on processed foods and drive-throughs. And we pay a price for that.

Get On Up: James Brown biopic puts locals inside the world of movies

Kayla Gilmore sat in the darkened Malco Theatre. Reflections from the big screen danced across her face, just as they had hundreds of times before. But this movie night was different. Kayla — and her mother — intently watched images move across the sprawling pearlescent landscape as the James Brown bio-drama “Get On Up” unfolded. And there it was. Kayla, in the movie.

Downtown Columbus preps for Thursday’s Art Walk

The shops and streets of historic downtown Columbus will bloom with all manner of artistic expression during the second annual Art Walk Downtown Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Columbus Humane Society ‘alumni’ invited back for reunion

Canines and kitties who once called the Columbus-Lowndes Humane Society home are being treated to a family reunion of sorts. On Saturday, Sept. 6, all pets adopted from the shelter are invited back with their humans for festivities from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

‘OzLand’ to premiere locally Thursday

More than three years after the idea for “OzLand” first came to independent filmmaker Michael Williams, the finished product will be unveiled. This first feature-length movie from the West Point visionary will test screen Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Malco Theatre on Highway 45 North in Columbus.

A canning craze: At 634 jars and counting, Bess Swedenburg gets a jump on Ole St. Nick

Bess Swedenburg laughingly admits she has friends who think she’s “crazy.” At times, she may even wonder herself. But not long enough to stop the canning juggernaut going on in her Mayhew kitchen.

Columbus’ Smith wins Mississippi author award

The Mississippi Library Association has announced that Michael Farris Smith of Columbus is the recipient of its 2014 Mississippi Author Award for fiction.

Luciernagas: Learn languages and literacy with fireflies and tortillas? It works.

“Hmm,” mused 10-year-old Isabella Gutierrez, deep in thought. The silence stretched. The Annunciation Catholic School fourth-grader furrowed her brow, trying to decide what her favorite part of the Luciernagas reading program has been so far. “There’s just so much stuff I like,” she finally announced, “but I think it was when we made tortillas!”

West Point’s double header is just around the corner

As sure as September follows August, Labor Day weekend brings the Prairie Arts Festival and Howlin’ Wolf Memorial Blues Festival to Northeast Mississippi. West Point’s mega-weekend Aug. 29-30 is a bonanza of music, fine arts, crafts and food.

Columbus true crime fan pens tale of murder

Those who know Dr. Selden Lambert as a visual artist may experience a double-take at learning her doctoral dissertation was on serial rapists.

‘The Glass Menagerie:’ Tennessee Williams Tribute prepares a classic for area audiences

The 13th annual Tennessee Williams Tribute Sept. 8-14 in Columbus has “destinations” to offer.