Attention, last-minute shoppers: You’ll find more 50 vendors selling the best in local arts and crafts during the annual Biloxi Visitors Center Open House on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
In addition to two floors of wares, the extravaganza will feature door prizes throughout the day, and hamburgers and hot dogs grilled by volunteers from the West End Hose Co. Fire Museum. The Biloxi Tour Train, weather-permitting, will provide caroling tours of nearby neighborhoods.
Meantime, holiday events rule the weekend entertainment lineup: There’s Santa and Friends on Ice at the Beau Rivage, an artful Christmas Shopping Extravaganza at the Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art, “Merry Christmas Darling, A Carpenters’ Christmas” at the IP, the “Nutcracker” at the Saenger Theater, and “A Blue Christmas featuring Brandon Bennett’s Elvis Christmas Show” at the Hard Rock.
And to wrap up the weekend, children will have a final chance to give their wish lists to Santa when he appears at the West End Hose Co. No. 3, the Biloxi Fire Museum on Howard Avenue Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m. Cookies and light refreshments will be served, and it’s all free.
See your overall weekend preview
Lighthouse Park taking shape at Porter Avenue
Motorists passing the Biloxi Lighthouse are seeing the latest city park beginning to take shape.
The 5.25-acre site, just west of Porter Avenue and a stone’s throw from the Biloxi Lighthouse, represents the completion of the Lighthouse Park and Visitors Center project. It is expected to be completed in April.
The $5.2 million federally funded venture — a figure that includes land acquisition — will feature much-needed, additional parking for the Visitors Center, a nature trail, native foliage and plantings, a children’s playground, and, on the southern end, a 5,000-square-foot outdoor pavilion that is expected to be a popular setting for outdoor weddings and special events that had previously been hosted on the Visitors Center lawn.
Read the whole story and see photos of the progress
Webcasting: Short-term rentals, holiday happenings
Chief Administrative Officer David Nichols and the city’s Public Affairs Manager outline the issues du jour in this week’s City Desk webcast, a 15-minute program recorded Thursday at Biloxi City Hall.
Listen to the program now
Council OKs La Quinta zoning; Planning OKs subdivisionÂ
By Jerry Creel, Community Development Director
This week in economic development, the city council voted unanimously to approved the zoning change for property located at 950 and 956 Beach Boulevard from Residential Multi-Family (RM-10), to Community Business (CB). This change was necessary in order to allow a proposed La Quinta Inn & Suites. The design for the proposed hotel will now go before the Development Review Committee (DRC), and the Architectural Historical Review Commission (AHRC) to ensure compliance with city design requirements before building permits are issued.
Read more about the week in development
News and notes
Road work: See the latest on road work throughout the city in the Public Works Department’s Traffic Update, published each weekday morning on the city website. To see today’s report, which includes a link to real-time traffic cameras, click here.
Council schedule: The next scheduled meeting of the Biloxi City Council is Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 1:30 p.m.
No DRC: The Development Review Committee will not meet next week.
