All that jazz.

As Mississippians, we quilt the fabric of our culture with Southern rituals, jazz being one of the many threads. Thanks to a Bay Springs festival called Jazz in the Grove, set for April 30, you don't have to travel as far south as you think for this experience. Enriched with great food, unique arts and crafts, and enough jazz to soothe the soul, this special event will take visitors from near and far back to their Southern roots.

Jazz in the Grove began when Dr. Jerald Hughes, a longtime resident and local physician, and Jody Fail, president of the Bay Springs Telephone Company, decided to organize an outdoor jazz festival after being inspired by a company picnic in which both of them were involved. Throughout the next year, these two jazz lovers with a vision worked with local schools and businesses to start this tradition. Their efforts paid off in the spring of 1997, when the first Jazz in the Grove took place. Although the first festival was hampered by rain and moved to the high school gymnasium, this did not drench the spirits of the townspeople. With much enthusiasm, the community was eager to begin planning for the next year.

Now, the event is Mississippi's only outdoor jazz festival and has grown tremendously. Jazz in the Grove has welcomed numerous fine jazz artists in the past, such as Mose Allison, Astral Project, and Holly Shelton. This year's artists will be Kaiso, the University of Southern Mississippi Jazz Band, Kathy Kosins, the Joyce DiCamillo Trio, the Jackson State University Jazz Ensemble, and the Jerry Ball Jazz Quartet. The arts and crafts offer as much variety as the performers, with designer purses, jewelry, cutlery, specialty ceramics, and more. Another vital part of the South is its food, and this event will feature some of the finest, with plenty of choices ranging from barbecue to funnel cakes.

Sponsored by the BSTC and Omni Bank, this event is free and open to the public. Grab a lounge chair or a quilt and head to the shaded grove on Second Street downtown, and make this one of your own Southern traditions!