Presence with the Past

Friday, October 1 • 6:30 p.m.

Take an evening stroll through the historic Raymond Cemetery as local citizenry depict prominent Raymond residents, soldiers, and heroes.

Port Gibson Street Entrance

Adults: $10.00; Children 10 and under $5.00

Evenings at St. Mark's

Tuesday, October 5 • 6:30 p.m.

Author and historian Todd Sanders speaks about "Mississippi Plantation Houses: More than just big, white columns." The program is a brief tour around the state looking region by region at a few local plantation houses; the real thing, not the townhouses and suburban villas of Natchez, Columbus or Holly Springs, but the big house on a working, income producing plantation.  The only thing that all the houses in the program have in common is the fact that they were/are the main residence on an operating plantation.  As part of the lecture Sanders will talk about some of the architectural terms we use as well as the various classifications that many of these houses fall into, such as what a Planter's Cottage is and the difference between a galleried and a porticoed Planter's Cottage. Sanders will also talk about I-houses, dog trots and Creole Cottages and how all these fit into this story.

St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 205 West Main Street

Refreshments to follow at the church

Open to the Public at no Charge

Evenings at St. Mark's

Thursday, October 7 • 6:30 p.m.

Retired Brigadier General Parker Hills speaks about his and Ed Bearrs' new book Receding Tide: Vicksburg and Gettysburg, the Campaigns that Changed the Civil War.  The premise of the book is that in the first six months of 1863 the war was still a coin toss.  Hills will dig deeply into his book to focus not on battles, but on several small events and decisions that changed the course of our nation's history.  A single telegram from an unheralded, unmarked location in Mississippi and a "traffic decision" at an unheralded, unmarked intersection in Pennsylvania are examples of "where the gray matter, not the gunpowder" was burnt.  Hills will use his military background to identify and analyze these and other key events that led to the Southern receding tide in the American Civil War.  Be prepared to be surprised during this talk, which, as usual will have Hills' trademark first-class training aids to help make the point.

St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 205 West Main Street

Refreshments to follow at the church

Open to the Public at no Charge

Vicksburg Blitzkrieg: Roads to Raymond – Guided Bus Tour

Saturday, October 9 • 8:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

Take a bus tour of the roads to Raymond in the Vicksburg Campaign, including visits to Port Gibson, Grand Gulf, Rocky Springs and Raymond Military Park, guided by Retired Brigadier General Parker Hills.

Bus departs Raymond Town Square promptly at 8:30 a.m.

Tickets $45 – includes lunch and entry fees.  Seating is limited.

Evenings at St. Mark's 

Tuesday, October 12 • 6:30 p.m.

Al Lawson, Raymond resident and head of The Lawson Studio, will speak about “Raymond’s Architectural DNA.”  Lawson will discuss how individual buildings have linage stretching far into the past.

St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 205 West Main Street

Refreshments to follow at the church

Open to the Public at no Charge

In Concert with Bill Ellison & Temperance Babcock

Saturday, October 16 • 7:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m.

Bill Ellison and Temperance Babcock build their distinctive sound on the classic combination of fiddle and acoustic guitar.  Their vocal duets cover the musical spectrum from Bill Monroe to the Everly Brothers to Old Crow Medicine Show.  Ellison has been a mainstay in Mississippi’s acoustic music scene both as a performer and as host of Mississippi Public Broadcasting’s “Grassroots.” The show was recently presented the Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts.  Babcock, a classically trained violinist and member of the Mississippi Symphony, has studied under Felicia Moye and has recorded with members of Ricky Skaggs’s band Kentucky Thunder.

St. Mark's Episcopal Church, 205 West Main Street

Reception to follow at the Probate Building, 234 Town Square

Tickets $20.00 – seating is limited

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