There’s an old saying that if March comes in like a lamb it will go out like a lion, and vice versa. It’s a reference to wind and weather, and is certainly not applicable to the local sports scene in Vicksburg.

When it comes to that, March always comes in like a lion.

Saturday marks, essentially, the official start of the spring sports season in Warren County. The 40th annual Run Thru History will bring hundreds of walkers and runners out of their burrows for a lovely 10- or 5-kilometer jaunt through the Vicksburg National Military Park.

When that’s over, Vicksburg High will host Warren Central and Riverside in a high school softball tournament at its Softball Swamp field. The action begins with the two Warren County teams playing each other at 11 a.m. The tournament is also a fundraiser for the National Fast Pitch Coaches Association’s Strikeout Cancer program, and monetary donations will be accepted.

Over in Louisiana on Saturday, at Lake Bruin State Park, the Zeke West Memorial Bass Fishing Tournament will begin at dawn. Nothing screams spring quite like a day of fishing on the lake.

High school and college baseball games will be played throughout the state, although none in Vicksburg. All of our local high school teams are on the road.

On Sunday afternoon, however, the 2019 Justin Henry Baseball camp will be held at the new Sports Force Parks on the Mississippi. The camp is another fundraiser, this time for Vicksburg Family Development Services.

As it always is, the first weekend in March is one of the busiest of the year for local sports. It’s also a symbolic renaissance, when the calendar flips from the cold winter months to the warm, inviting spring months. We might certainly still see some cold weather in March, but this is a big mental hurdle to get through.

If the rain holds off on Saturday, try to get out and enjoy it. Celebrate it. Cherish it. Seize it. Go to a ballgame. Go for a run. Go fishing or golfing. Get out and do something, even if it’s just sitting in the bleachers somewhere.

This is the weekend when we all emerge from our winter bunkers, blink our eyes and climb back into the light. This is a fresh start. A new year, essentially, when you can get active and shed pounds or just enjoy some sunshine.

The possibilities this weekend are endless. Try to make the most of it.

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Ernest Bowker is the sports editor of The Vicksburg Post. He can be reached at ernest.bowker@vicksburgpost.com