SHOUTOUTS

OHS Opens New Facility for Baseball and Softball

A new baseball/softball field complex at Oxford High School is the final phase of a 2017 voter-approved bond referendum for Oxford School District.

Other projects completed earlier are Central Elementary School and a new Fine Arts Building at OHS.

A grand opening/ribbon cutting for the complex was held Feb. 4, with both baseball and softball scrimmage games following. Both Charger teams have recently begun their inaugural seasons in their new facilities.

Chris Baughman, OHS co-activities director, talked about the new complex with great excitement. Both fields have turf infields; the outfields are still grass.

“We have an updated press box, of course,” Baughman said. “There’s a building that contains locker rooms for both baseball and softball players, coaches’ offices, a laundry room and a shared weight room that can accommodate 30 kids.”

Behind the building is a covered practice facility the teams can share.

Oren Dunn Hosts Jam Sessions

were two performers and 14 in attendance.

“Right now, we are trying different days,” said Leesha Faulkner, museum director. “At some point we may come up with a set date each month or we may swap days. This is an idea we’ve played with for a while. Elizabeth Russell with the Convention & Visitors Bureau helped make it a reality.”

If you think you hear melodious sounds coming from Tupelo’s Oren Dunn City Museum in the early evening, chances are it’s not your imagination.

Once a month, the museum in Ballard Park hosts a Singer/Songwriter Jam Session. The first jam session was in January. There

You don’t have to sing or play professionally to be a part of the evening. All are welcome.

“These events are for anyone who loves music or writes or performs,” said Leesha Falkner, museum director. “Folks can share their talents as they see fit, or if they prefer, they can choose to just talk about where their love of music has taken them.”

“One afternoon I was out there and saw member of the softball team practicing hitting while members of the baseball team were practicing pitching on the other side of the facility,” Baughman said.

An updated concessions area will soon have some additional technology that will allow games to be livestreamed.

“The new facility is very nice,” Baughman said. “We are very blessed to have gotten it. I’m a little biased as a former coach, but this was well deserved.”

The museum started the jam sessions for several reasons, Falkner said.

“First, we are the birthplace of Elvis Presley,” she said. “It’s only fitting that we encourage others to explore their gifts.

“Second, music creates community — harmony, if you will. And, to paraphrase an old commercial, what if we could, ‘teach the world to sing.’

“Third, we enjoy a get-together.”

Also in the planning stages after the annual Dudie’s Burger Festival (which takes place from 10 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. May 6), is the inaugural Singer/Songwriter Festival. Look for more details as they develop.

Visit orendunncitymuseum.com or the museum’s Facebook page for more details.

For lovers of the work of Mississippi folk artist Theora Hamblett, you have the entirety of 2023 to visit the University of Mississippi Museum at University Avenue and S. 5th Street in Oxford and spend time among her colorful artwork.

The exhibit, “Friends of Theora” will be on display throughout 2023. Those familiar with the artist’s canvases, covered with her images of Mississippi countrysides or treescapes popping with color, will not be disappointed.

The lifelong Lafayette County resident, who died at the age of 82 in 1977, drew inspiration from Oxford’s community of artists. Many of those works that inspired her will also be on display.

“People think of Theora as self-taught, as a loner, a spinster, but she was actually a part of this vibrant community of artists,” said Melanie Antonelli, curator and collections manager at the UM Museum.

Hamblett took art classes at night at Ole Miss. When she died, many of her drawings and paintings were given to Ole Miss and are now part of the museum’s large collection.

The museum is open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays. Learn more about it at museum.olemiss.edu.