WINTER EVENTS PREVIEW
HOLIDAY
4-23, 5-9 p.m., at Canton Square (147 N. Union St., Canton). The city of Canton holds its annual holiday celebration featuring Christmas lights, horse and buggy rides, photos with Santa, story time with Mrs. Claus and more. Free admission, vendor prices vary; call 601-8591307; email jana@cantontourism.com; cantontourism.com. PHOTO BY EUGENIVY NOW ON UNSPLASH
Journey to the North Pole Nov. 24-24, Nov. 27-28, Dec. 5, Dec. 12, Dec. 19, Dec. 21-23, Dec. 26, Dec. 28-31, Jan. 2, Jan. 4, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Nov. 29, Dec. 6, Dec. 13, Dec. 27, Jan. 3, 1-6 p.m., at Mississippi Children’s Museum (2145 Museum Blvd.). The children’s museum presents the holiday exhibit that transforms the Gertrude C. Ford Exhibition Hall into a winter village with train cars, a post office for writing letters to Santa, a sock skating rink, a clock tower with a new 45-foot slide and more. $10 general admission, free for members; call 601-981-5469; email marketing@mcm.ms; mschildrensmuseum.org.
// Looking for something great to do in Jackson? Visit JFPEVENTS.COM for more.
Cut Your Own Christmas Tree Nov. 25-Dec. 20, 2-6 p.m., at The Resting Place Retreat (269 Waldrop Road, Flora). The farm and retreat center offers the opportunity for guests to choose and cut their own Christmas tree, visit farm animals, snack on hot chocolate and cookies and take photos. Free admission, product prices vary; call 601-879-0026; email admin@therestingplaceretreat.com; find it on Facebook. Christmas Open House 2020 Nov. 27-28, 8 a.m.-6 p.m., at Rivers Market (20 Willow Creek Lane, Byram). The local plant and produce company hosts a Christmas open house featuring live Christmas trees, homegrown poinsettias, fresh produce, food products and more. Free admission, product prices vary; call 601-373-4545; email riversmarket.byram@gmail.com; find it on Facebook. Canton Christmas Festival Nov. 27-29, Dec.
KIDS Watercolors for Kids Dec. 3, 10 a.m.-noon, at Flowood Nature Park (4077 Flowood Drive, Flowood). Local artist/maker Kiri O’Gwynn leads the introductory class in watercolors. Class takes place outside, in small groups. Appropriate for all ages, but young children may require an adult’s help. $10 fee; email info@kiriogwynn.com; find it on Facebook. Learning Tree Book Club Dec. 5, Jan. 2, Feb. 6, 2-3:30 p.m., at Virtual (Zoom). The children’s book club gets together via Zoom to read and talk about books on the first Saturday of each month. Books provided. Free admission; call 601-372-0229; email communitylibrary.ms@gmail.com; find it on Facebook. Art in Nature Dec. 10, 10 a.m.-noon, at Flowood Nature Park (4077 Flowood Drive, Flowood). Local artist/maker Kiri O’Gwynn leads the art class for kids. The class takes place outside, in small groups and uses Natural Earth Paints. Children should wear clothes that can get dirty. Social distancing guidelines will be observed. No refunds. $10 fee; email info@kiriogwynn.com; kiriogwynn.com.
Christmas at Reunion Farms Nov. 27-28, Dec. 4-5, Dec. 11-12, Dec. 18-19, 6-10 p.m., at Reunion Farms Equestrian Center (515 Gluckstadt Road, Madison). The Madison County equestrian facility hosts the holiday-themed festi-
Born to Be Wild Dec. 13, Jan. 10, Feb. 21, 1:30-4 p.m., at Mississippi Museum of Natural Science (2148 Riverside Drive). The museum dedicated to Mississippi’s natural environment joins with the Coalition for
Citizens with Disabilities to offer the series of outdoor skills classes for ages 8-18. All classes are at MMNS unless otherwise indicated. All classes outdoors, weather permitting. Schedule subject to change based on weather conditions. The program is free to members of CCD. Non-members may join CCD at tinyurl.com/joinccd. Free to members of CCD, registration required; call 601-5766000; email andrea.falcetto@mmns.ms.gov; mdwfp.com. Hoot & Holler Family Creation Lab Dec. 13, 2-3:30 p.m., at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.). A museum educator leads families with children ages 6-10 in an art project taking inspiration from a different artist each month. This event takes place on the second Sunday of each month. $10 per child; call 601-960-1515; email mdrake@ msmuseumart.org; msmuseumart.org. Look & Learn with Hoot Dec. 18, 10:3011:30 a.m., at Mississippi Museum of Art (380 S. Lamar St.) The educational event for children up to 5 years of age and their parents features creative play, a hands-on art activity and story time with Hoot, the museum’s education mascot. Please dress for mess. Free event; call 601-960-1515; email mdrake@ msmuseumart.org; msmuseumart.org.
FOOD
Fighting Hunger One Meal at a Time, From a Distance // by Torsheta Jackson
November 25 - December 8, 2020 • jfp.ms
28
BILAL QIZIBASH
I
t’s Friday evening and a crowd of people begins to gather at Smith Park. A car pulls slowly up the drive and parks. The sedan’s trunk opens as several men move toward the vehicle to begin unloading the small brown boxes and cases of water. The crowd forms a line as two of the men distribute the 400 boxes unloaded from the vehicle’s trunk one-by-one. Another person hands each recipient a bottle of water. Once the trunk is empty, one man closes it and taps the car twice. With a smile and a wave, the driver pulls off while the crowd settles in to enjoy the meal they’ve just been given. The scene is the same each Friday night when Bilal Qizibash delivers the weekly sandwich boxes to the homeless. The program “R U Hungry?” recently celebrated its sevenyear anniversary. However, COVID has caused some changes. Safety concerns have eliminated the use of volunteers, leaving Qizibash as the sole deliverer. The boxes now contain individually wrapped and sealed hot sandwiches. However, Qizibash’s dedication to continuing the work caused those he serves to step up for his safety. “The very first time I was out there during the pandemic, I was handing out the sandwiches, and they told me to stop (and) move away,” Qizibash says. “They said, ‘We will do it,’ and they told me to go back to my car. So I went back to my car (and) they formed their own line. They distributed the food and even cleaned up.” With the pandemic creating new food needs, Qizibash has also been helping guide other programs in the metro. From March to October, his “Draw a Smile Foundation” partnered with the City of Jackson to provide emergency meals to residents through a program from the USDA. When a glitch caused those deliveries to stop, Qizibash said local grocery stores banded together to help fill the need. The group is also working in partnership with the Boys and Girls Club and Dole to
R U Hungry delivers food to the homeless every week.
provide meals. The hot meals, which are professionally prepared by chefs Nick and Regina Wallace, are distributed at the West Capitol Boys and Girls Club where families can drive through to pick up the individually packaged and sealed containers each Saturday. The partnership is now also providing food boxes of produce and meat. Qizibash notes his organization is not a charity, but a movement toward systemic change. “‘R U Hungry’ is essentially a band-aid,” said Qizibash. “It is essential. It is critical. We do have to feed people that are hungry, but we do need to put in more sustainable solutions. We are in the business of putting ourselves out of business.” Find more information on R U Hungry at facebook.com/hungryur. Bilal Qizibash is the co-founder and CEO of EasyKale, which manufactures shaker bottles of the dehydrated and powdered namesake vegetable. Visit easykale.com to learn more.
