Downtown Columbus is the place to be Saturday. In one trip, families will find artisan demonstrations, a massive community yard sale, a 10K race, a barbecue championship, live music, good food, antebellum home tours and even horse-drawn carriage rides.
A roughly two-block area at the west end of Main Street will brim with activities on the first Saturday of the city”s 70th annual Spring Pilgrimage.
The second annual Giant Possum Town Yard Sale from 7 a.m. to noon at the Hitching Lot Farmers” Market begins the day.
“This is our biggest fundraiser for the Farmers” Market,” said Amber Murphree Brislin, director of Main Street Columbus. “All our spaces are completely filled; we have 55 vendors.”
As an added benefit, Brislin said, Palmer Home for Children will have a truck parked at the Farmers” Market at the corner of Second Avenue and Second Street North during the sale, accepting donations from the public, as well as from vendors who want to donate what they do not sell by the end of the day.
Bargain and treasure hunters won”t go hungry. Doughnuts, coffee, Polish sausage, hot dogs, pizza and ice-cold drinks will be available to purchase.
The Possum Town Yard Sale does more than just help clean out community closets.
“It helps a lot other organizations, too,” Brislin noted. “A lot of nonprofits use it to raise money. And with all the events going on one weekend, they”ll really complement each other.”
Artisans Alley and more
A block south of the yard sale, living history will unfold on the grounds of the Tennessee Williams Welcome Center from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Soap making, wood carving and quilting are only a few of the skills to be displayed as Chris McDill, George Dyson, Mike Bailey, Jill Nelson, Susan and Rick Wright, Sharon Foster, the Possum Town Quilters and more talented artisans exhibit for the public.
“This is an opportunity to purchase a craft that is unique to Mississippi,” said Columbus Cultural Heritage Foundation director Nancy Carpenter. “We try to make sure crafts that day represent, to a degree, the 19th century.”
Food will also be sold at the Welcome Center Saturday.
For the fleet of foot, the Columbus Pilgrimage 10K race presented by the Golden Triangle Running and Cycling Club leaves the Welcome Center start line at 8 a.m. Registration forms are available now at the center at 300 Main St.
Carriage rides will also depart from the Welcome Center beginning at 9 a.m. The cost is $5 per person.
Carpenter added, “And the double-decker bus will be out Saturday. A lot of people want to see the city from atop the bus.”
The Welcome Center is ticket headquarters for Pilgrimage. Several historic homes will be open Saturday for day and candlelight tours.
At the nearby Riverwalk, the Grilling on the River Magnolia State Barbecue Championship will offer children”s activities, a People”s Choice tasting, afternoon music, food vendors and team judging. Gates are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission is free; but donations are requested for the Columbus-Lowndes Humane Society. Find the day”s schedule at www.grillingontheriver.8m.net.
For more information about Pilgrimage and its related events, go to www.columbus-ms.org, or contact the Heritage Foundation at 662-329-1191, or the Welcome Center at 662-328-0222.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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