More than 500 seats sold for State of the City

City Councilmembers will decide Tuesday who will be delivering the welcoming remarks for next week’s State of the City luncheon, but one thing’s for sure: more than 500 seats have been sold for the event.

Tina Ross-Seamans, director of the sponsoring Biloxi Bay Chamber of Commerce, reports that tickets have been selling at a steady pace, despite Mayor A.J. Holloway’s decision to resign from office on Tuesday for health reasons.

The luncheon, highlighted by a 27-minute video report on the State of the City, will be Thursday at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino. Doors open at 11 a.m.; the program begins at 11:30 a.m.

“The response that we’ve seen tells me that we have a great number of people who are interested in what’s going on in Biloxi,” Ross-Seamans said. “We have a great turnout every year – a sell-out audience many years – and that could very well happen this year, too.”

Tickets – at $35 each – are available through noon Tuesday.  Call the Biloxi Bay Chamber at (228) 435-6149 or email info@biloxibachamber.org. No tickets will be sold at the door.

Among the guests expected at the luncheon are First Lady Deborah Bryant and Congressman Stephen Palazzo. The Biloxi High School Show Choir also will perform, along with the Biloxi High School jazz band.

“Those are the things that we know right now,” Ross-Seamans said. “Other than that, we’re on hold until Tuesday as far as printing the programs.”

 

News and notes

Weekend preview:  The Beau Rivage Resort & Casino hosts “Bohrdeaux,” the 13th annual George Ohr Gala poolside,  on Saturday evening; the Spring Fest and Garden Extravaganza, a Ron Meyers production, takes place at the Coast Coliseum this weekend, and, elsewhere, you’ll find concerts by Willie Nelson, Aaron Lewis, and Rodney Carrington. To see the complete lineup of weekend entertainment, click here.

Development: The Development Review Committee, the multi-departmental city group that reviews new commercial development in the city, meets next week to review plans for a snowball stand on Veterans Avenue and an office-warehouse on Lorraine Road. To see the agenda, click here.

Webcasting: F. Cliff Kirkland, who is working to develop a city-sponsored entertainment lineup at MGM Park, explains the possibilities in this week’s City Desk webcast. To hear the program, recorded Thursday morning, click here.