Theater guild schedules for productions, auditions

The Vicksburg Theatre Guild has announced December and January events.

On Dec. 12-14, the group will  present “Jenny Saint Joan, A Play of Joan of Arc in One Act.” Friday and Saturday night performances will be at 7:30, and the Sunday matinee will be at 2. In the play, Joan of Arc is depicted as a normal adolescent facing tough choices about her future. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for senior citizens 55 and older, $7 for students 13 and older and $5 for children 12 and younger.

At 2 p.m. Jan. 18 and 6:30 p.m. Jan. 20, the group will host “Gold in the Hills” auditions. Needed for the 1890s melodrama are actors and actresses ages 6 through adult and singers and dancers ages teen through adult. The play requires a few parts for children and numerous parts for teens and adults. Can-can dancers must be in at least ninth grade. Production dates will be Friday and Saturday nights, March 13-April 4.

On Jan. 23-24, the guild will hold auditions for “The Fantasticks,” the timeless tale of lovers found and lost. Required are six men able to play characters 15-24, 18 or older, 30-50, 40-60 and 50 or older; one women able to play a character 14-22; and one non-gender-specific character 18 or older. Production dates will be Apr. 23-26, 30 and May 1-3.

All events will be at Parkside Playhouse, 101 Iowa Ave. For information, call 601-636-0471 or visit www.e-vtg.com.

Edwards native to sign book at downtown store

J. Moffett Walker, a native of Edwards, will sign her latest book, “The Mississippi I Love,” at 1 p.m. Dec. 7 at Lorelei Books in downtown Vicksburg.

The work is a state history written in verse. In words and pictures, Walker pays tribute to 25 Mississippi celebrities and 25 towns and cities, including Vicksburg.

Walker, a wife, mother, counselor, grandmother and author, was born and reared in Edwards. She has a bachelor’s degree from Jackson State University and a master’s degree from Purdue University in personnel and guidance. She has taught school and was a counselor for middle school children for 29 years.

She is a guest writer for three Mississippi newspapers. Her projects include a novel based on a wrongful automobile death of her 25-year-old niece, and a Southern cookbook with recipes her mother learned in cooking classes at Tougaloo College from 1928 to 1930.

Lorelei Books, located at 1103 Washington St., is open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. It can be reached by calling 601-634-8624, e-mailing loreleibooks@wave2lan.com or visiting www.loreleibooks.com.

Ruby Red Christmas on tap in Tennessee

From 5 until 9 Friday and Saturday nights during December, it will be a Ruby Red Christmas at Chattanooga’s Ruby Falls.

The grounds will be decked in holiday style, with falling snow inside the cavern castle and live music. On Dec. 19, donate blood for the Ruby Red Blood Drive and receive one free pass for a carriage ride.

Ruby Falls is America’s deepest commercial cave and largest underground waterfall open to the public. Ruby Falls is open daily, except Christmas, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Visit www.rubyfalls.com to purchase tickets or call 423-821-2544. For group information, call 800-755-7105.