Several years of exhaustive research and half a year of construction will blossom — literally – on Thursday when Beauvoir: The Jefferson Davis Home and Presidential Library unveils Varina’s Garden, a recreation of the garden cared for by Varina Howell Davis, Mrs. Jefferson Davis.
As part of the introduction, Beauvoir will offer a free tour of the 8½-acre garden at 10 a.m., followed by a question-and-answer session inside the Presidential Library at 10:30. A lunch — $17 per person – is planned for 11:30 a.m.
Those touring the garden will walk along concrete pathways to see a fruit garden, a vegetable garden, and a rose garden with 17 varieties of roses, according to Bertram Hayes-Davis, who oversaw a ground-breaking for the project in mid-March.
After the Thursday morning unveiling, Varina’s Garden will be part of the overall Beauvoir tour. Tours are conducted seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission to Beauvoir and the grounds is $9 for adults, with AAA and military discounts available; $5 for those 6 to 18; and under 6, free.
See for yourself: To read a history of the garden and to see photographs, click here.
Special council meetings set for Thursday
Mayor A.J. Holloway has called two special meetings of the Biloxi City Council for Thursday morning.
A Bmail on Friday listed an incorrect day for the meetings.
During a 9:30 session Thursday, the council is expected to approve the municipal budget for FY 2014, and at a 10 a.m. meeting councilmembers will discuss the proposed downtown baseball stadium. Both meetings will be at City Hall and are open to the public; however, the baseball discussions are expected to take place in a closed session.
To see agendas and supporting documents, click here.
Tickets on sale for Biloxi First roast of Jeff O’Keefe
Tickets are on sale for the 11th annual Biloxi First Roast, which will feature Jeffrey O’Keefe, on Oct. 3 at IP Casino Resort.
O’Keefe is a graduate of University of Southern Mississippi and is president of Bradford-O’Keefe Funeral Home.
Doors open at 6 p.m. and dinner and the program begin at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are $50 for an individual, $250 for a patron, which provides two tickets and patron seating or $1,000 for corporate patron and a table of 10. The deadline for tickets in Sept. 18.
Biloxi First provides support to teachers in creative endeavors and has awarded more than $234,000 in grants.
Details: Liz Joachim at 436-4697, ext. 7, or lj@fpcorso.com.
News and notes
Bridge work: Work is continuing on the Cedar Lake Bridge. To see details on this and other projects, courtesy of the Traffic Update listing on the city website, click here.
USA Today on Mahoney’s: Mary Mahoney’s Old French House, one of Biloxi’s well-known restaurants — if not Biloxi’s best-known restaurant — is the subject of a USA Today “Great American Bites” segment publised today. To see the online piece, click here.
