Civil War stories and diary readings will be featured Friday in the Coral Room at The Vicksburg, presented by the Vicksburg Heritage League to honor the 150th anniversary of the battles and Siege of Vicksburg.

The evening will include music by Julia and Nicholas Blake and readings and dramatic interpretations by local actors, including:

• Stories of the Cave Dwellers and The Bride of Annandale by Mary Ruth Jones;

•The Minie-Ball Pregnancy, a.k.a. The Original Son of a Gun, by Jack Burns; and

• Stories handed down by African-American slaves and sharecroppers, by Helen Sims and the Mississippi Re-enactment Society, including Master Tom Williams, who helped his slaves escape to a place called “The North…. it’s Somewhere above Tennessee,” and Lula Williams, the cook on the Williams Plantation, who found creative ways to feed all the hungry.

Stories and Civil War Diaries begins at 7:30 p.m.

For reservations, call 601-618-9349. Tickets, $15, can be purchased at the door at 801 Clay St., or online through PayPal at www.WestsideTheatreFoundation.com.