Rick of ‘Rick and Bubba’ to share humor, hope with local audience

Rick Burgess’ humor and antics are well documented on radio airwaves around the country virtually every day. His Christian faith is equally well-known.

A taste of India: Indian cuisine broadens Columbus community’s palate

It’s our good luck the wide, wonderful world of food has so many fascinating cuisines to explore. Columbus just got one more. With the official opening of its first Indian menu restaurant Feb. 1, the city moved closer to truly having something for every palate.

MSU Riley Center announces a star-studded lineup

The Mississippi State University Riley Center in Meridian has released the lineup for its spring and summer Performing Arts Series. The star factor is high.

CAC to present more than a wee bit o’ music Friday

Jil Chambless and Scooter Muse have a deep-seated affinity for the music of Scotland and Ireland. It is rooted in the rhythms and lyrics that pass down tales of an olden world steeped in legend and lore. And of a new world forged by immigrants and adventurers.

Super Bowl picks: From green gumbo to ‘meat candy,’ a few of your neighbors share game day favorites

With only four days to go until Super Bowl XLVIII, football fans are making final picks — for game day eats, that is. In Paulette and Jimmy Garton’s Columbus home, the choice is often green gumbo, a hearty dish starring turnip greens.

Cultural exchange: The Golden Triangle can expect more Japanese visitors soon. Jim Dickey can help us be a gracious host

“When somebody asks me about Japan, it’s hard to stop talking,” admits Jim Dickey, with a wide grin spreading across his genial face. Tall and trim, the Columbus man continues writing “Welcome to Mississippi” in Japanese on a big dry erase board in a Mississippi University for Women classroom.

Oooh, la la: Take the French croissant ‘outside the box’

Who doesn’t love a warm, fresh croissant right out of the oven? Some may say it’s the best thing to come out of France. I would argue that there is the matter of the Statue of Liberty, Maurice Chevalier and Gilles Marini. That aside, we can love the flaky pastry even more on Jan. 30 — National Croissant Day.

‘What if there’s more to this world than we know?’: A West Point filmmaker asks in his first feature-length movie

Michael Williams still has a long way to go but, like the glow of the Emerald City, a light is shining in the distance. The independent filmmaker of Shendopen Productions in West Point completed principal photography Jan. 12 on his first feature-length film, “OzLand.”

Tuesday marks Columbus author’s novel release, book signing

Tuesday is a notable day for Deborah Johnson, and for the community she calls home. The Columbus author’s second novel, “The Secret of Magic,” will be released by publisher Amy Einhorn Books/G.P. Putnam’s Sons. The launch will be celebrated with a book signing and reception at the Columbus Arts Council’s Rosenzweig Arts Center at 501 Main St. in downtown Columbus, from 4 to 6 p.m.

Recipe rewind: Or … what were they thinking?

Maybe you’ve seen the BuzzFeed Food piece called “21 Truly Upsetting Vintage Recipes” that has been making the Internet rounds the past few days. But I couldn’t take the chance you’d miss it.

‘To the roof of Africa’: Five family members celebrate New Year’s Day by summiting the world’s highest freestanding mountain

Raising a champagne toast with tuxedoed friends at midnight is one way to usher in a new year. As is dazzling the neighborhood kids with fireworks before retiring to a cozy sofa with hot chocolate. But gulping for breath in thin, frigid air? Inching upward on leaden legs through shifting volcanic scree and then snow? In the dark?

Who does that?

Tennessee Williams Tribute preps play for state competition

When the curtain goes up on the Mississippi Theatre Festival in Vicksburg Jan. 16-19, Columbus will be represented in the competition for the first time, by a production from the Tennessee Williams Tribute Committee.

The yin and yang of comfort foods

After the deep freeze the Golden Triangle has weathered since Sunday night, today’s forecast near 40 degrees sounds downright balmy, doesn’t it? Thank goodness that’s over. When Jack Frost blows in on a polar vortex, we tend to hunker down with warm soups, chili and stews.

Dream 365: Week-long commemoration honors past, with eyes to the future

“If you look at where we are today and we try to make plans for where we will go tomorrow, you have to remember how you got to where you are,” said Learnard Dickerson. With the Rev. Tony Montgomery and Lavonne Harris, he is a co-founder of Dream 365, a now week-long commemoration in Columbus of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Warbleland: Painter, musician, thinker — welcome to the world of Alex Warble

Don’t make the mistake of trying to pigeonhole Alex Warble’s art. He’ll surprise you. Just when you think he’s best known for his “people party” paintings of repeating “Elvi,” pimps or quirky everyday characters, one discovers his surrealistic pet portraits.

After a quarter century at Fairview’s organ, Myra McAdams retires today

This is a day of mixed emotions for Myra McAdams.

Fairview Baptist Church’s organist is retiring after more than 25 years of Sunday morning and evening services, Wednesday night choir rehearsals, Christmas, Easter and patriotic presentations, nursing home programs, weddings, funerals and hours upon hours of disciplined practice.

Of Christmas and second chances: Fayette’s ‘Christmas at the Park’ is about much more than lights

“Columbus, Mobile, Amory, Caledonia, Huntsville, Starkville … ” Doris Brasher read down the list in a small, spiral notebook she keeps in the gingerbread house that serves as a welcome station for Christmas at the Park in Fayette, Ala. “There’s Wyoming, Alaska, Germany and Beijing, China,” she went on.

Doris and her husband, John, like to know where visitors to the annual Christmas display come from.

Love those holiday cookies!

BY JAN SWOOPE [email protected] It’s here — the Associated Press holiday “cookie package.” We look forward to it every December. This year’s recipes for specialty

She did it!: Columbus cook wins ‘Restaurant Express,’ opens Vegas restaurant

Five years ago, Seonkyoung Longest of South Korea sat in her new house in north Columbus, feeling the isolation inherent in leaving behind her homeland, her family and her native language. Before long, she discovered an outlet in the Food Network.

A home for the holidays: Habitat for Humanity makes a dream come true, just in time for Christmas

The old, sentimental Christmas standards about home have never had more meaning for Tiffany and Terry Boykin of Columbus. Perry Como’s “Home for the Holidays” and Bing Crosby’s “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” seem to carry a deeper message this time around.

On Christmas morning, the Boykin family will wake up in a new house, one they have worked hard on, alongside Columbus-Lowndes Habitat for Humanity volunteers.