Panel to pay for ads only for Civil War anniversary

Published 11:59 am Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Despite working from a budget of $19,500 to promote the 150th anniversary of the Civil War across the state, Mississippi Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission Chairman Bill Seratt said he’s confident it will be enough to increase heritage tourism in Vicksburg beginning next year.

Because the commission cannot afford to sponsor any sesquicentennial events, it is using all of its budget for advertising.

“What we hope to do is use the $19,500 as seed money and get area (convention and visitors bureaus) to match it with their advertising dollars,” explained Seratt, who is executive director of the Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau. “If we can do that, then we’ll have enough to do a pretty extensive media campaign to launch the sesquicentennial.”

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Mississippi State University has agreed to help create a website for the state sesquicentennial commission, free of charge, to provide information about commemorations around the state. A December launch date is expected.

The Legislature created the sesquicentennial commission, but never dedicated a significant budget for the 15-member group to promote the 150th anniversary.

Vicksburg’s sesquicentennial events will begin in April with a conference for travel writers and tour industry leaders and will continue through July 4, 2013 — 150 years after the city fell to Union forces following a 47-day siege. Most of the events are still being planned. All will get additional promotion via a $150,000 federal Preserve America grant, which the city is matching with $150,000. The grant also will help establish new monuments in Vicksburg, Port Gibson and Raymond commemorating and detailing the 1863 Siege of Vicksburg.

Seratt said the VCVB also will be using a portion of its annual budget to promote local sesquicentennial events. While the sesquicentennial buzz and slick advertisements should draw in more tourists, Seratt said local attractions operators should also be planning to boost efforts to capitalize on the increased tourist traffic in the coming years.

“I believe we will see an increase in tourism in the coming years because of the Civil War promotion, but the real key to whether or not Vicksburg sees more than other areas will be interpretation,” he said. “Interpretation is the key. We have got to put on a show. A lot of people are interested in battlefields, the strategy and tactics, but an overwhelming number of tourists want to know how the civilians — black and white — lived before, during and after the siege.”