Category: Events

The Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration takes pride in announcing plans for the 36th annual Celebration, taking place March 27-29, 2025. Using the theme “Follow the Frenchman through Natchez: The Farewell Tour of Lafayette,” this historical conference will celebrate the 200th anniversary of Gilbert du Mortier, the Marquis de Lafayette’s farewell tour of the United States.

This two-and-a-half-day event will be done in partnership with the Sons of the American Revolution. It will feature a living history educational encampment for high school students, a series of expert lectures on the life and contributions of Lafayette to the history of our nation, a reenactment of Lafayette’s journey up the Mississippi and his stop in Natchez in 1825, and several events including a General’s Banquet with period music and dance.

Thursday, March 27, 2025 

8:30AM – 12:30PM – Living History Educational Encampment, West Lawn, Rosalie

1:00PM – 2:00PM – NLCC Opening Ceremonies, NLCC Award Presentations

2:00PM – 3:00PM – “Natchez During the Time of Revolution” Jim Wiggins

3:30PM – Rodney Bus departure

4:00PM – Grave Marking of Judge Thomas Rodney, Washington, MS

5:00PM – 6:30PM – Donor Reception – Magnolia Hall

Friday, March 28, 2025 

8:30AM – 12:30PM – Living History Educational Encampment, West Lawn, Rosalie Mansion

8:45AM – Welcome

9:00 – 9:45AM – “Lafayette Visits Mississippi” Tupelo Room, Natchez Convention Center – Mr. Brother Rogers, Secretary, MS Historical Society MS Archives and History

10:00 – 10:45AM –     “Stop the Parade!“

 “America’s Gard Nationale” “James Armistead Lafayette, Slave, Spy, Patriot & Friend”  Jason Philip Bird CH(LTC) Mississippi Army National Guard – Tupelo Room, Natchez Convention Center

11:00AM – 1:00PM – LUNCH, Rolling River Reloaded – (TICKETED)

                                    “Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution” Robert Rhodes Crout, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus, College of Charlston

1:30 – 2:30PM – “Lafayette in the Age of the American Revolution: A Deeper Dive” Robert Rhodes Crout, Ph.D., – Natchez Convention Center, Tupelo Room

2:30 – 3:30PM – “Adrienne de Noailles, Woman of Steel” June Burton, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus, University of Akron Natchez Natchez Convention Center, Tupelo Room

3:30PM – Bus departs for Gloucester

4:00PM – Grave Marking of Terr. Gov. Winthrop Sargent – Gloucester Cemetery

5:00PM – Sweet Tea and Lemonade in the Gardens at Gloucester

6:00PM – MS SOCIETY SAR / NLCC WELCOME RECEPTION – Buffet Dinner, (TICKETED), MSSDAR Rosalie Mansion, East Lawn   

Saturday, March 29, 2025

    GRAND RECEPTION FOR GEN. LAFAYETTE:

8:30AM – Brass Band performance, Bluff Park

8:55AM – 2 Cannon Salute, Rosalie West Lawn & Bluff Park

9:00AM – Disembarkment, Riverboat Splendor – Gen. Lafayette & Auguste Levasseur

Dockside reception by City Hosts.  Transport to Rosalie West Lawn.

9:20AM – Military Review – Rosalie West Lawn

9:40AM – 2 Cannon Salute, Rosalie West Lawn & Bluff Park

9:45 – 10:00AM – Military/Fife & Drum Procession – Rosalie West Lawn to Bluff Park.

Military Units, Color Guard Units

Arrival, Gen. Lafayette by Barouche

Secretary Auguste Levasseur, son Georges Washington Lafayette

10:00 – 11:00AM – GRAND CEREMONY – Bluff Park Bandstand – Rusty Jenkins, MC

 City, State, National Leaders, Veterans

11:00 – 11:30AM – PROCESSION TO LUNCH AT THE STEAMBOAT HOTEL – Natchez Convention Center, Nashville Room

11:30AM – 1:00PM – LUNCHEON, Natchez Convention Center, Nashville Room (TICKETED)

“Lafayette, The Young Eagle (1757-1777)

Jak McGee Smith, Esq.

AFTERNOON SESSIONS: Natchez Convention Center, Tupelo Room 

1:30 – 2:30PM – “Washington’s Favorite Son (1777-1785)”

Thomas Gerald Lilly, Jr., aka: Gen. Lafayette

2:45 – 4:00PM – “Lafayette and the Regeneration of European Freedom (1789-1824)”,

Julien Icher, President, The Lafayette Trail, Inc.  

5:30 – 9:30PM – PRESIDENT’S BANQUET – Natchez Convention Center, Nashville &

Natchez Room (TICKETED)

Keynote:  Julien Icher – “Lafayette’s Return to his Beloved America

    Period Ball – The Booneslick Strings, St. Charles, MO

 9:00PM – Huzzahs to Lafayette & Levasseur (Lafayette & Levasseur depart)

10:00PM – ACL Splendor departs, Natchez Under the Hill

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The 2025 Natchez Powwow is returning to its two-day weekend tradition. This year’s event will be held on Saturday and Sunday, March 29 and 30, on the north end of the Natchez Bluff near North Broadway and High streets.

The cultural festival is free and open to the public.

The Natchez Powwow is an annual event that celebrates the culture of Native Americans. In addition to dance and music, it includes Native American food, arts, and crafts. The Natchez Powwow was started by Borum in 1988. In 2018, the Natchez Powwow was listed as one of the top 20 events of that year by the Southeast Tourism Society.

Visitors will hear songs that are up to 300 years old. They’ll also hear the sound of 20 men hitting the drum. The colorful, cultural regalia, which can cost over $1,000, is a popular feature.

Visitors are asked to bring their own lawn chairs. Alcoholic beverages will be prohibited in the powwow area, as well as the trader and food vending areas.

A full event schedule will be available soon.

For more information, visit https://www.natchezpowwow.com, or send email to Powwow Chairman Dr. Chuck Borum at cborum@hotmail.com.

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Natchez Festival of Music presents vocalist Susan Ruggiero in an evening of music representing the rich musical heritage of the American South.

Join us at Lansdowne on March 29, 2025 from 7 PM to 9 PM. Tickets are $35 each.

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The Concordia Parish Library is hosting an AARP Smart Driver Course designed for drivers aged 50 and older. This event will take place on Wednesday, February 5th, from 8:30 AM to 1:00 PM at the Vidalia Library. The course will be instructed by Rev. Travis Fulton and includes certificates, fees, and refreshments, courtesy of Delta Bank. Attendees may be eligible for insurance discounts. Registration is required, and you can secure your spot by calling 318-336-5043. Don’t miss this opportunity to refresh your driving skills and prioritize safety!…

Natchez Festival of Music presents the annual Valentine’s Day event which includes cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, a silent auction of art pieces, and a live auction of exclusive dinners and travel packages. Hear the music of Billie Holiday, Etta James, Ella Fitzgerald, and many others presented by vocalist Alison Jenkins and the Tyler Kemp Jazz Trio.

Join us at Brandon Hall on February 14, 2025 from 7 PM to 10 PM. Tickets are $75 each.

The Event link can be found here

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The Concordia Parish Library invites you to experience a Motown Concert Tribute on Thursday, February 20th, at 7:00 PM in the Concordia Bank & Trust Lobby, Vidalia. This exciting event will feature performances by Tim Mitchell, Cara Black, and tributes to legendary artists like The Supremes, Marvelettes, The Drifters, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, and Tina Turner. Celebrate the magic of Motown and enjoy an unforgettable evening of music. The event is co-sponsored by Concordia Bank & Trust….

Natchez Festival of Music presents Part II of a presentation by Mayor Dan Gibson at the piano, performing music from the Golden Age from the 1920s to 1960s, and featuring music from Hollywood and Broadway.

Join us at Stanton Hall on March 13, 2025 from 7 PM to 9 PM. Tickets are $35 each.

The LInk for the event can be found here

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11th Annual Cruising for a Cure Relay For Life Open Car Show
Date: Saturday, March 1, 2025
Location: Vidalia Riverfront, Vidalia, Louisiana
Time: 10:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Join us for a day of fun and support a great cause! Activities include:

• A spectacular car show
• Delicious food and funnel cakes
• Unique vendors
• Live entertainment from The Clogs on stage at 11:00 AM
• DJ, bingo, raffle, 50/50 drawing
• Exclusive car show shirts

All proceeds benefit the American Cancer Society. Don’t miss this exciting event!

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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade will be January 26, 2025.

Event to feature civil rights activists of the Parchman Ordeal.

The 2025 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Parade will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, January 26, 2025 with the line-up beginning at 2 p.m. on Broadway Street on the Bluff.

The theme is “Natchez All In.” The event will include civil rights activists from the 1960s.

“In the January 26th MLK parade, the remaining living members that went to Parchman will be honored,” wrote Parade Chairperson Jacqueline Marsaw in a Facebook post. “I feel so good in honoring them as they should be every year.”

Marsaw described the activists as “Parchman Living Legends” because of the suffering they endured in the struggle for civil rights. On October 2 and 3, 1965, hundreds of protestors marched in solidarity through the city’s streets in defiance of a September 30 court ban against marching. They were all arrested, and  when the local jails became full, the authorities bused 150 of them to the Mississippi State Penitentiary at Parchman.

The protesters were subjected to harsh treatment at the prison. Their experience became known as “The Parchman Ordeal.”

The parade will also honor such leaders as Medgar Evers, slain civil rights leader and NAACP’s first field secretary in Mississippi; Wharlest Jackson Sr., civil rights leader who died when his truck was bombed by members of the Ku Klux Klan in Natchez, on Feb. 27, 1967; and Ida B. Wells-Barnett, journalist and activist who led anti-lynching crusades in the 1890s and fought for woman suffrage.

Others who will be honored include Ser Seshsh Ab Heter-C. M. Boxley, former civil rights worker and coordinator of Friends of the Forks of the Roads Society; and Nick Bezzel, founder of the Elmer Geronimo Pratt Pistol & Rifle Gun Club.

The grand marshals will include Derrick Johnson, national president and CEO of the NAACP;  Natchez Alderman Billie Joe Frazier, Ward 2; and Adams County Supervisor Ricky Gray, District 4.

Entry fees for the parade are: $50 donations for any number of vehicles; $50 for floats and 2 vehicles; and $10 per car.

Marsaw said bands, dance groups, horses, motorcycles and all organizations are welcome to participate in the parade.

The parade route will start at North Broadway and Franklin streets. From there, it will travel along Franklin to N. Dr. M.L. King St., where it will turn left and proceed up to Minor Street, where it will end. The parade will be followed by trophy presentations at the corner of Dr. M.L. King and High streets for the best float. The parade is sponsored by The Natchez Branch of the NAACP. 

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