[6/9/04]On Thursday, Vicksburg will be transformed into a set for a new community television commercial.

The advertisement will be the second one made by the Alliance, an umbrella organization designed to create a single direction for the community. The Alliance is working with the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau and the city to create the new spot, which will air this fall.

Charlotte Duffey, interim director for the Alliance, said people had been chosen to appear in the 30-second spot. However, others are still invited to watch the filming and perhaps earn a background spot.

“Come and view the shooting,” she said. “You may end up in a scene.”

Shooting for the commercial, titled “Get away to Vicksburg: It’s just a minute away,” will begin at 8:30 a.m. at Riverfront Park. The scene will include children and adults in the park. At 10:30 a.m., crews will move to the murals on the city’s flood wall and show people taking pictures.

Around noon, the shooting will be at the Ferris house on Fort Hill and feature a couple eating a picnic in front of the house.

During the afternoon, filming will move to All Saints’ Episcopal School to capture the columns. Duffey said the shooting would involve a horse and buggy and people dressed in turn-of-the-century clothing.

Also in the afternoon, shooting will take place on the Mississippi River.

“We are striving to capture the flavor of Vicksburg,” Duffey said.

The first commercial made by the Alliance, VCVB and the city last fall focused on bed and breakfasts, restaurants, casinos, nightlife and the Vicksburg National Military Park. It aired from December to January and from May 10 through the end of this week.

Some of the shots from the old commercial will be reused in the new one, but most of the scenes will be swapped out.

Duffey said the new commercial will be aired in a 100-mile radius around Vicksburg from central Louisiana to Hattiesburg. Patty Mekus, the public affairs supervisor for Vicksburg, said because the city helped finance the commercial, TV23 can air it for no cost.