It is official. The holiday season has kicked off in Vicksburg. On Saturday, the 12th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting at the Outlets at Vicksburg was held.

The event included the arrival of Santa and Mrs. Claus and a live show with performances by the Warrenton Elementary Honor Choir, Dance from the Heart students and local pageant winners. Earlier in the day, the Outlets at Vicksburg also played host to the Ninth Annual Shopping Extravaganza — a fundraiser for the Junior Auxiliary of Vicksburg.

“We partner with the Outlets at Vicksburg to help raise money for our community projects that we’re involved with,” JA member Jordan Amborn said. “We use this money to help fund out projects throughout the year.”

This year’s Salvation Army red kettle campaign also commenced Saturday beginning with a concert of Christmas music by a Salvation Army brass ensemble at the Vicksburg Mall. The red kettle campaign is vital to the Salvation Army’s annual budget, said Trudy James, Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary member and kettle volunteer coordinator. “The largest amount of funds we receive come from our red kettle campaign. That’s the majority of the funding the Salvation Army receives all year,” she said

Mayor George Flaggs Jr., who spoke during the event reiterated the importance of serving and offered a full day of his services volunteering with the Salvation Army. He also pledged to give the organization a $500 donation quoting a lesson he learned as a child in church, “It’s better to give than to receive.”

More positives this week in Vicksburg:

• On Friday Vicksburg’s annual Veterans Day Memorial Ceremony was held in the Memorial Rose Garden that split Monroe Street east of the City Hall Annex. It was one of several events held in the city to honor the county’s veterans, living and dead.

• Jesse Wilson scrambled out of trouble and threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Demarcus Jones on a fourth-down play with less than a minute left, as the Warren Central Vikings stunned South Panola 28-23 Friday night in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs. The Vikings (10-2) advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the second consecutive season — the first time they’ve done that since 2001-02.