Farmers Market-

August 7, 2007 will be opening day for Picayune Farmer’s Market. Picayune Mayor, Greg Mitchell, City Manager Ed Pinero, and City Councilman, Jerry Bounds, Lavern Guy, Anna Bales Turnage, Donald Parker and Larry Watkins voted to allow the Farmers Market to be held on Tuesday and Thursday from 7:00 am – 12:00 pm in Jack Read Park on Goodyear Boulevard. The Park offers shade, electricity, public bathrooms, tables and a pavilion for demonstrations or entertainment. Wouldn’t it be great to make this a year round event?

Farmer’s Market A-frames are placed advertising the market and flyers will be placed in downtown shops to hand to consumers. Rules and regulations and applications are available at the office. LeAnn mailed 8 applications out this week for the market.

Prior to Hurricane Katrina forming a Pearl River County Tourism Committee was discussed and now finally it looks like a county committee will become a reality. Those working together to make this happen are Picayune Main Street, Inc. Tourism/Economic Restructuring Committee has several members, Chamber of Commerce Board of Director Members Linda Hanberry and Pat Carbone, Diane Miller and Carol Fitzwilliam appointed by the City of Picayune, Steve LaBlanc, City of Poplarville Adlerman Shirley Wiltshire, Blueberry Jubilee Director, Marcelle Tims, PRCC Marketing Instructor, Carol Williams (who has agreed to allow her students to design a website for Pearl River County Tourism Committee as a class project), Julia Anderson, Planner for Pearl River County, Pearl River County Welcome Center Director, Cindy Schoonmaker. The committee members will work to promote tourism throughout Pearl River County.

Mary Beth Wilkerson, Deputy Director of the MDA Tourism Division will be in Picayune next week to meet with some of the committee members with procedure guidelines. These guidelines will be shared with the entire group on August 16 at Picayune City Hall.

Our Economic Restructuring Committee will have some new directions and visions with a County Tourism committee handling some of the tourism responsibilities in the future.

Mississippi Main Street selected the City of Picayune to apply to become a Preserve America Community. City Manager, Ed Pinero and Mayor Greg Mitchell requested Diane Miller meet with Michelle Jones, Special Projects Officer of Historic Preservation Division with Mississippi Department of Archives and History, to discuss the application process and benefits to becoming a Preserve America Community. Upcoming events include,

Upcoming events include,

—Fall SideWalk Sale/ Picayune Potty Push

Our Promotion Committee has been working on plans for the First Annual Picayune Potty Push, Jambalya Cook-off, Sweet Potato Bake off, and Pumpkin decorating contest to add to our already successful downtown Fall Sidewalk Sale scheduled for October 6, 2007.

Please make plans now to participate in any or all of these events. The Outhouse Race sounds like tremendous fun.

Members- Business members and Volunteers- Please get some auction items ready for upcoming fundraisers- Please participate in these next 2 events. Items donated can be for men or women or children. Tax forms will be given to participating merchants or members.

—Turkey Shoot

September 9, 2007 Mark your Calendar. The American Legion Post 73 will sponsor a Turkey Shoot Fund Raiser for Picayune Main Street, Inc. All funds raised will go to complete our bench project for downtown shoppers. Benches in the past have cost $300.00 each with delivery. Their request is Picayune Main Street, Inc. furnish plaques to place on each bench purchased with funds raised through the Turkey Shoot that reads Placed by American Legion Post 73.

All members can help with this fundraiser by donating items for auction, raffle, door prizes, or for larger prizes for the Turkey Shoot. From past Turkey Shoots donated items such as grills, hams, televisions, shotguns or rifles, or cash prizes have been the most popular for the actual Turkey Shoot and have collected the most donations. Our downtown merchants have a lot of great gift items that can be used for auction items that will bring in some pretty remarkable donations for the bench project. Wouldn’t it be nice to raise enough money for 20 more benches?

—Golf Tournament

UBS Financial Services is sponsoring a Golf Tournament for Picayune Main Street, Inc. at Millbrook Country Club. Members will be contacted in the next few weeks for a $50.00 sponsorship fee. All sponsors will be listed on the back of T-shirts for golf participants. Additional shirts will be available for purchase if you would like a shirt with your business name listed on the event shirts. Nickie Smith is the chairman of this event and is planning an auction, dinner and dance to end the evening.