Running and rasslin’ on tap downtown this weekend

Biloxi’s downtown streets will be filled with runners, walkers and race walkers on Saturday morning when the 34th annual Mayor’s Cup 5K Run, one of the largest local races on the Coast, spills through the streets, and then on Saturday night the Dr. Frank G. Gruich Sr. Center will host an evening of championship wrestling.

Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich will fire the starting gun at 9 a.m. for the 1-mile followed by the 5K at 9:30 a.m., both starting and finishing in front of the Biloxi City Hall on Lameuse Street.

This race, which is sponsored by the City of Biloxi and hosted by the Gulf Coast Running Club, is one of the clubs largest on the Coast, with more than 200 participants each year. 

Registration for the races will begin at 8 a.m. in front of City Hall and is $20.

T-shirts will be given to participants and trophies will be awarded to overall male and female, overall masters and grand masters male and female and first, second, and third place male and female age groups.

Incidentally, the Mayor’s Cup is not the only outdoor event to fill the downtown streets Saturday.  The Walk to end Alzheimer’s takes place Saturday on the Town Green, with registration at 8 a.m. and the opening ceremony at 9:45 a.m.  The three-mile walk will begin at 10 a.m.

Then on Saturday night, beginning at 7 p.m., Diamond Championship Wrestling will present a show headlined by Lucha Underground star Ricky Reyes. Ringside seats are $15, general floor admission is $10, and balcony seats are $8. Children five and under enter free.

Elsewhere this weekend: The 3rd Annual Community Empowerment Festival takes place at John Henry Beck Park, 671 Division Street, on Saturday from noon to 5 p.m. with a 2,500-pound grocery giveaway, free hot lunch, a winter coat giveaway, a health fair, games and more. On Sunday, the Biloxi Parks & Recreation hosts its annual Special Needs & Family Thanksgiving Dinner from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Donal M. Snyder Sr. Community Center, 2520 Pass Road.  The event is free and open to all ages with physical and mental disabilities.
See the weekend calendar
See the Mayor’s Cup 5K registration form
See info on the Walk to End Alzheimer’s
See the Empowerment Festival flyer
See info on the Diamond Championship Wrestling
See the Special Needs & Family Thanksgiving Dinner flyer
See the Community Calendar

 

News and notes: 

Homeless Connect: More than 40 social-service agencies and businesses joined about 100 volunteers this morning at the Donal M. Snyder Sr. Community Center for “Homeless  Connect,” an Open Doors Coalition initiative that provided a one-stop shop of information and assistance for the homeless and needy. To see photos from the gathering, click here.

BPD on the hunt: The Biloxi Police Department is now accepting applications for entry level officers and lateral transfers, which are experienced officers now employed with another civil service law enforcement agency.  The positions have annual pay between $36,193 to $42,262 and an enviable benefits package. To visit the city’s Human Resources Division online and read current job openings, click here.

Real ringers:  The Salvation Army kicks off its Christmastime bell-ringing season with a ceremony Saturday morning at 11:30 at Edgewater Mall, and Biloxi Police leadership will be on hand to be recognized as winners in Coast Police Challenge during last year’s bell-ringing.

Reviewing the news of the week:  It’s a Biloxi doubleheader Sunday morning on the “WLOX News This Week ” public affairs program. Biloxi Police Chief John Miller will discuss two topics: the crime-fighting value of social media and the city’s drive to have better-organized special events; and Councilmember Felix O. Gines will discuss the goal of a trip he and Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich made to the nation’s capital this week.  The program airs Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on WLOX ABC.