Browsing: Community Picks

I had lived in McComb for over a year before someone casually mentioned there was an exotic pet shop in town.

I remember being genuinely surprised. Somehow, I had completely missed it.

Not long after that conversation, my kids and I decided to go check it out for ourselves, and now it has become one of our favorite places to visit.

There’s a moment that happens almost every day somewhere in Mississippi. A stranger holds the door open a little longer than expected. Someone waves from a two-lane backroad. A neighbor checks in after a storm, not because they have to, but because that’s simply what people around here do.

A new initiative from the Mississippi Department of Mental Health is promoting community resources for Mississippians with autism, while its director says adult support remains one of the biggest gaps in care. 

Lumberton Public Library is celebrating its 50th anniversary on May 14, bringing the community together to focus on the local history and future of the public library.  

The Ocean Springs Chamber–Main Street is excited to announce that Ocean Springs, Mississippi, has been named one of the top destinations in the 2026 USA TODAY 10BEST Readers’ Choice Awards for Best Small Town Cultural Scene.

I first visited Ocean Springs with my mother in 2010. She accompanied me on a trip to New Orleans to check out some graduate schools, and we wandered down the coast and into the Walter Anderson Museum of Art. This was a very busy time of life for me, full of change and possibility. I don’t remember very much about that trip other than the Community Center murals, but I was caught up in the beginning of an unexpected turn. 

On any given Sunday in Ocean Springs, there’s a steady rhythm at Center Pointe Church—cars pulling in, doors opening, kids hopping out ahead of their parents, and a welcome that feels more like a front porch than a formal entrance.

PERRY COUNTY — The third annual “Back the Blue” 5D Barrel Run will be May 2 at the Perry County Multipurpose Center in Richton to help raise funds for the Perry County Sheriff’s Office. 

A new mountain bike park is in the early stages of development in Lucedale, where organizers hope to turn more than 60 acres of city-owned land into a regional destination for riders and families. 

New and expecting parents in Hancock County can receive free resources and education at a community baby shower May 7 at the Bay St. Louis Library.

There are festivals… and then there’s Starkville.

Because once a year, this Mississippi college town turns into something you really have to see to believe—where a bugler sounds the call, a flyover roars overhead, and hundreds of dachshunds line up like tiny, determined athletes ready for glory.

COASTAL MISSISSIPPI (April 20, 2026) – Coastal Mississippi is celebrating a major milestone as the Amtrak Mardi Gras Service approaches its 100,000th passenger since launching last August, underscoring the growing demand for rail travel along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. 

 The Hattiesburg Zoo is thrilled to introduce its newest residents to guests beginning tomorrow: three baby spider monkeys named Cider, Holly and Juniper.

The sound of live music will fill downtown Brookhaven this April as the Haven Spring Music Festival takes over the Historic Haven Theatre for three days of performances designed for the whole family.

At 9:00 on a spring morning in McComb, the Miracle League field comes alive. Players take their positions, volunteers step alongside them, and families gather along the fence line, ready to cheer. It is not just baseball being played. It is joy, connection, and a sense of belonging that stretches far beyond the game itself.

RUNNELSTOWN — More than two decades after Hurricane Katrina disrupted Perry County’s historical museum, the county is set to reopen the space April 18 in Runnelstown, restoring a place to preserve and share local history.