Street Talk

I’ve seen them; they’re out there. The first Christmas decorations. Yep. Twinkling and glowing in the now earlier evening dark. It does not matter if you still might be sweating under the autumn sun, it is going to be the holiday season sooner than you think. And as much as you hate to see “summer” end, this last one being pretty good as it was not hot at all, the leaves are turning and the weather will change this month and next.
There is some great stuff lining up for December downtown—art shows, carriage rides, parades.
But as you all know the real shopping of the season gets done in November. And this Saturday, November 9, is a big day on Main Street. It is the annual Open House for Main Street retailers. This year there are 23 businesses in the Open House. There are door prizes and a big grand prize. The weather is going to be perfect. Get out shop the Valley for deals, visit as many merchants as you can, and see if you win one of the many prizes.            
There will be cards to register for the prizes and a bit of a trip around Main Street to qualify for the grand one. Pick those up at any of the 23 businesses Saturday. See the ad in this week’s paper and see you this Saturday on Main Street.
Music from the “Loft on Main” series this fall continues upstairs at The BTC Old-Fashioned Grocery from 7 to 9 p.m. with Julie Lee from Nashville. Also there is special guest, Sarah Masen. That is this Thursday the 7th and if you have not been, just know that the quality of the music and the warmth of the setting are just great. Always a good time.
But earlier this Thursday, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Crawdad Hole restaurant on south Main it will be “Meet the Brewers.” Talk with Tony Balzola and Amos Harvey from Yalobusha Brewing about what they’re doing, have a shrimp po-boy or a plate of red beans, try a glass of the new local product “River Ale” and keep the logo glass as a souvenir. It is a great example of the creative economy in action and the Yalobusha Brewing Company is making positive news statewide for the Valley. Meet the guys who do the grunt work.
Put on you calendar Thursday morning, Novem-ber 14 from 10 to 11:30 am. That is when Chuck Marohn from Strong Towns will be in the Valley and talking at the Main Street office. He is a small town advocate and really gets the intersection of local economy, solid infrastructure, long-term sustainability, and quality of life. I like what Chuck says and his message has real economic merit for all of us working here in the Valley. The Stennis Institute from Mississippi State is coming with him as well as some folks from the Mississippi Development Authority. Sounds like a heavyweight crew, but they are all fans of the creative economy and they like what is going on in the Valley.