For many visitors, Spring Pilgrimage is their first glimpse of Columbus, and organizers are hoping this year’s 72nd annual event will inspire newcomers to fall in love with the city and remind residents of the rich heritage and historic charm with which the community is graced.
The two-week celebration, sponsored by the Columbus Cultural Heritage Foundation and the Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau, begins Monday and showcases 13 antebellum homes this year. A complete guide to the dates and times for the home tours can be found in our special Pilgrimage section of today’s Dispatch.
The Spring Pilgrimage will kick off with tours of two homes Monday afternoon, followed by a free concert and block party on the lawn of the Tennessee Williams Welcome Center downtown. The Motions, a young Columbus rock band fronted by 21-year-old Toby Hartleroad, will perform at 5 p.m., followed by Big Joe Shelton and the Black Prairie Blues Ambassadors at 6 p.m.
Attendees can bring lawn chairs and blankets and may purchase catfish or shrimp po’boys for $7.
“Tales from the Crypt” will be held at Friendship Cemetery from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Students from the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science will offer interpretive performances spotlighting the lives of Columbus residents interred at the cemetery. Tickets will be $4 for adults and $2 for children.
“It’s going to be a fun, fun day,” Columbus-Lowndes Convention and Visitors Bureau Executive Director Nancy Carpenter said of Monday’s tour opening. “I think this will be one of our grandest kickoff parties.”
This year’s Pilgrimage will feature several new events, including a champagne and dessert party April 6 at 6 p.m. at Shadowlawn, an 1848 Greek Revival mansion. There will also be a 10K run and a 1-mile fun run with Columbus Fire and Rescue firefighters beginning at 8 a.m. at the Tennessee Williams Welcome Center. New artists and craftsmen will exhibit period wares Saturday, and Oxford author Neil White will make his first appearance in Columbus April 7 to sign his latest book.
Perennial favorites, including double-decker bus rides and bus rides, will be offered as well.
Carpenter said the CVB has been inundated with calls from across the nation this week, and some tour groups have already arrived. The Spring Pilgrimage offers a little of something for everyone, she said, even people who have attended it previously or are native Columbus residents.
“It’s a good time for us to showcase our city at a beautiful time of year,” she said. “There are so many elements to Pilgrimage. It’s so much more than visiting antebellum homes. So many of us take for granted the architecture in our town and the beautiful Main Street. Our city always looks beautiful, and it’s just so gorgeous right now.”
Tickets for each of the five home tours are $18 per tour for adults, $16 for military or people 60-years-old or older and $10 for children. Groups of more than 20 people will receive a 10 percent discount, and those who want to tour all the homes can purchase five tours for the price of four.
For more information, see today’s special section of the Dispatch, call 1-800-327-2686 or visit columbus-ms.org.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 41 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.