Halloween at Hiller: Know the traffic plan

Halloween at Hiller takes place tonight from 6 to 8, and there are a few things you need to know. The biggest is that you must enter the park from the Atkinson Road entrance, off Popp’s Ferry or Jim Money Road.  The Hiller Drive gate will be used only as an exit.

Police will be inside the park to direct visitors to convenient parking spaces.  Once inside and parked near the Barbara Ferrill Softball Fields, you’ll find family-oriented games, inflatables, more than 30 local businesses offering trick or treating booths, and food sold for a minimal fee by the Friends of Hiller Park, which has organized the affair with support from the city’s Parks & Recreation and Police Departments.
See a flyer about the event

 

Cemetery tours highlight Biloxi mayors

The award-winning Old Biloxi Cemetery Tours return Sunday, spotlighting prominent historic leaders of Biloxi.

“The Mayors of Biloxi” will be the theme of the tenth annual walking tour, which takes place from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday and 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday at the Old Biloxi Cemetery on U.S. 90, midway between the Biloxi Lighthouse and the White House Fountain.

Re-enactors will appear in character, telling visitors about the life and experiences of 17 former Biloxi mayors.  The performances are continuous, meaning those attending can drop by anytime during tour hours to see all re-enactments.

The complete lineup in this year’s cemetery tours:

Raymond Caillavet portrays Sean Murphy; John Bousquet by Jim Rux; H.J. Meaut by Jim Russell; Edward Glennan by Edmond Boudreaux; Lyman Holley by Joseph Holley; F.W. Elmer by Bill Raymond; James Fewell by Clayton Pennylegion; Louis Braun and Katherine Jones Braun by Billy Miller and Brandy Mills; R. Hart Chinn and Vera Dukate Bond Chinn by Boyce Deaton and Amber Dawn; John O’Keefe by Jeffrey O’Keefe; Laz Quave by Laz N. Quave; Dr. Daniel Nash by Cree Cantrell; John Kennedy by Justin Kennedy; John Walker by Wesley Guthrie; Thomas J. Rosell by David Delk; John Bradford and Sarah Howard Bradford by Bill Collins and Kathe Newcomb; and Joseph Swetman by John Collins.

The cemetery tours are free, but donations are accepted.

Parking is available at the Biloxi Elks Lodge, immediately west of the cemetery.

The annual Old Biloxi Cemetery Tour has won state and regional awards for its attention to detail and research.  The tour is produced each year by “Preserve Biloxi,” a group that includes the City of Biloxi, Biloxi Bay Chamber, Biloxi Main Street, Biloxi Public Schools, the Genealogy and Local History Department of the Biloxi Public Library, and the University of Southern Mississippi.
Print your own tour program
See photos from last year’s tours
See a sneak peek from Thursday night
See your video invite from “Mayor and Mrs. Hart Chinn”

 

Point Cadet re-zoning: The continuing discussion

The Biloxi Planning Commission on Thursday continued until Nov. 3 its public hearing to gather input on the city’s request to re-zone more than 20 acres on Point Cadet, an idea to lure more family oriented attractions to the area, including the proposed $140 million Margaritaville II. The proposal continues to elicit conversation :

Margaritaville I:  This week’s Planning Commission hearing, a two-hour session, is among the topics discussed on this week’s City Desk podcast. To listen to the program, recorded this morning, click here.

Margaritaville II: State Rep. Scott DeLano (R-Biloxi), himself a real-estate developer, discusses the Margaritaville project during a segment on WLOX News This Week, airing Sunday at 8: 30 a.m. on WLOX ABC.

Margaritaville III: The city’s public affairs manager answers questions about the zoning brouhaha during “Sunday Night Extra,”  a segment airing on the WLOX newscast that begins Sunday at 10 p.m.

Margaritaville IV: To see background on the zoning issue and the proposed Margaritaville expansion, click here.

 

News and notes

Elsewhere this weekend: Heart and ZZ Top are among the groups in town this weekend. To see a weekend preview, click here.

City Council meeting: The Biloxi City Council has a regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday afternoon at 1:30 at Biloxi City Hall. To see the agenda for the meeting, along with supporting documents, click here.

A beautiful Biloxi: OK, so Cruisin’ the Coast and its thousands of visitors have come and gone, but Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich reminds Biloxians that efforts to keep Biloxi “safe, friendly and beautiful” should never end.  What can you do? To see a video reminder, click here.