Plans to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the 1863 Vicksburg Campaign and Siege will comprise four components, said Michael Madell, superintendent of the Vicksburg National Military Park.

Some highlights of each:

• Along the Campaign Trail — Starting in January, five park rangers will begin conducting outreach programs at schools, libraries and civic organizations in Raymond, Port Gibson, Champion Hill and other places integral to Union Gen. U.S. Grant’s campaign to capture Vicksburg. Cultural and natural resources and battlefield information programs will be held, and a passport book will be developed to encourage people to follow the campaign trail and collect a stamp at each site.

• Youth Leadership Academy — Students and young residents ages 16-20 will work closely with park rangers in an “immersive experience” at the park, developing skills in a variety of disciplines: research, historic preservation, natural resources management, education and community leadership. They will learn the relevancy of the VNMP and the Civil War to their lives and enhance leadership skills, community service and career goals. Candidates must live or attend school in the Vicksburg-west central Mississippi region.

• Vicksburg Heritage Fair — Planned for April 5-7 on Crawford Street, the fair will be modeled after tent shows that traveled the South in the 19th Century and will include craft shows, musicians and dancers. Spotlighted will be downtown attractions like Confederate Gen. John C. Pemberton’s Headquarters, the Southern Cultural Heritage Center complex and the Old Court House Museum. A special feature will be a debate and discussion of Civil War-related topics by actors portraying significant figures involved in the war.

• Memorial Day weekend — Signature events will cap the VNMP’s sesquicentennial observances. “Shadows of the Past,” to be held May 23 at the national cemetery, will highlight the lives of veterans who are buried there; “Soldiers Through the Ages,” May 24 and 25 at the USS Cairo Museum, will offer a timeline of the military in displays and programs; a series of free open-air concerts will feature the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, the Jackson State University Mass Choir and, it is hoped, a U.S. Navy Band; the Iowa Memorial will be rededicated; and programs will highlight Civil War engineering and siege tactics and the roles of African-Americans.

For more details and continuing updates, contact the VNMP at 601-636-0583 or visit www.nps.gov/vick/