Columbus is getting its share of events in the coming week.
From sports tournaments to blues concerts, local residents will have their fill of entertainment heading into spring.
Starting today, Columbus will host the three-day 2016 USTA Southern Adult 65 & Over Mississippi Championship. Tennis games will begin each day at 8 a.m. at Magnolia Tennis Club. Finals will be held Sunday.
It’s the fourth year in a row that Magnolia Tennis Club has hosted the championship, and 290 seniors making up 31 teams will participate in the championship this year, according to the club’s manager Billy Gib Clark. Clark expects between 350-400 people to attend.
Clark said tennis is a fairly unusual sport in that seniors can participate.
“They advertise tennis as a sport for a lifetime,” he said. “You come out and you watch people over 65. We’ll have some 70-year-old, 80-year-old folks still playing what I consider pretty high-level tennis.”
“It’s not just a thing for young people,” he added.
Soccer tourney
On Saturday, soccer enthusiasts will flock to the Columbus Soccer Complex for the Mississippi Soccer Association North District Tournament. From 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, 46 teams of boys and girl between the ages of 8-16 will compete in the district championship for which teams will go on to state championships, according to Greg Lewis, director of the Columbus-Lowndes Recreation Authority.
“In order to become a state champion, you have to win or place in the district to advance,” he said.
To check the schedule of the games, go to the Mississippi Soccer Association’s website at mississippisoccer.org.
Lewis added that the event wouldn’t be possible without the support of Visit Columbus and invited area residents to “come out and enjoy some soccer over the weekend.”
‘Americana Music Tour’
On Tuesday, Steve Gardner and the Jericho Road Show will perform starting at 5:30 p.m. at the Rosenzweig Arts Center for the Americana Music Tour in downtown Columbus. The concert is a joint effort by Visit Columbus and the Columbus Arts Council, according to CAC Program Manager Beverly Norris. Tickets are available through the CAC and Visit Columbus. Norris said both organizations have already sold plenty of tickets, so she expects a big turnout at the concert.
“The band is a really good representative of a lot of Mississippi music,” Norris said. “It’s a very high-energy show. They’re very talented musicians, and they really try to cover the gamut of several musical styles, including blue, country, bluegrass, old time.”
Noon Tunes has started, and on Thursday, local musician Dawn Barham will perform in the Trotter Convention Center Courtyard in downtown Columbus from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. Attendees at the performance can also purchase lunch from Zachary’s. They can sip drinks from Clark Beverage Group and eat at their leisure while listening to music not only this Thursday, but April 28 and May 12 as well. Jeffrey Rupp will perform at the Trotter Convention Center on April 28 and Bruce Johnson and Tyler Wheat will both perform May 12.
Noon Tunes is sponsored by Main Street Columbus.
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