Biloxi Family Festival Against Crime is Saturday

You’ll have a chance to get a close-up look at emergency response equipment, meet police officers and firefighters, and enjoy free food and games on Saturday when the Biloxi Police Department hosts its annual Family Festival Against Crime on the Town Green.

The free festivities will run from noon until 3 p.m. The celebration includes games for children, displays featuring anti-crime information and booths with information about various services.

Among the first responders participating in the affair are the Police Department’s dive and rescue team, bomb squad, traffic division and special-response team. Members of the Biloxi Fire Department will also be showing off firefighting vehicles and equipment.

The event is coordinated by the Biloxi Police Department and the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.

The weekend preview: To see the weekend’s entertainment lineup, as compiled by the Mississippi Gulf Coast Regional Convention and Visitors Bureau, click here.

‘Finally First Friday’ is this evening

Biloxi Main Street hosts “Finally First Friday” this evening from 5 to 8 p.m., with live entertainment throughout Downtown Biloxi, featuring Ian Taylor.

Gallery 782 is hosting an artist show from Linda and Vern Nix, “The Magic of Sand & Mud,” with entertainment by Richard Shropshire.

Those attending Finally First Friday will also have a chance to win a $100 downtown business gift card.

Biloxi Main Street will be located near Margaret Tremmel Peresich Park. Call 228-435-6339 for more information or visit the Main Street Facebook page.

Council to vote on zoning for new areas of city

Land-use and zoning measures — involving annexation, and bed and breakfasts — are expected to be decided during the City Council meeting Tuesday evening.

The agenda includes a measure to amend Biloxi’s land-use and zoning map to add the 2.6-square miles won in the annexation victory over D’Iberville. The Biloxi Planning Commission has worked to make the zoning on the 139 parcels similar to the original Harrison County zoning.

Additionally on Tuesday, councilmembers will be asked to amend the regulations governing Bed and Breakfasts to allow more than breakfast to be served and to increase the size of special events that B&Bs can host.

To see the complete agenda — more than two dozen measures in all — click here.

News and notes

Webcasting: Chief Administrative Officer David Nichols discusses the council’s continuing zoning issues coming before the City Council in this week’s City Desk webcast. To listen to the seven-minute program, click here.

Looking ahead: To see the Community Calendar for the month, click here.