Mississippi Roads travels east to Lauderdale County in the town of Meridian. We are at the Mississippi State University Riley Center for Education and Performing Arts.
http://www.msurileycenter.com/
Built in 1889, the Grand Opera House in Meridian originally presented vaudeville shows, minstrels and silent films. As new motion picture theaters begin to hit the scene, the Grand Opera House became obsolete and closed its doors in 1927 and virtually sat untouched for more than seventy years.
In the 1980’s and 90’s support from the community began to grow to restore this historic property and in 2000 The Riley Foundation made a substantial financial commitment to restore the building to its original glory and convert the neighboring department store into a state of the art conference center. After close to a hundred years and twenty-five million dollars this magnificent facility was reborn in downtown Meridian as the MSU Riley Center.
And speaking of buildings being more than one hundred years old, in our first story we travel over to the town of Learned to Gibbs Country Store which has been in operation for more than a century.
The economic climate in which Gibbs Store in Learned, Mississippi was born has drifted away with the decades, leaving the store behind as a relic; a living dinosaur that has defied the ages and hasn’t closed its doors like most of its contemporaries. Walt Grayson takes us to visit Gibbs store, and we explore, not only the store’s past, but learn the attitudes that have kept it alive.
More than thirty performing art events are held each year on the magnificent stage at the MSU Riley Center.
Talented artists like Lyle Lovett, John Hiatt, Garrison Keillor, Boys II Men, Aaron Neville and Robert Earl Keen have all appeared in this amazing 950 seat restored opera house.
And speaking of talented artists, a country music legend recently stopped in our state on the Ambassadors of Rock Tour.
Acclaimed songwriter, musician, actor and activist Willie Nelson and his wife Annie recently were in Biloxi at the Hard Rock Casino. We were lucky enough to spend a few minutes with this talented musician. http://www.willienelson.com/
The MSU Riley Center is not just for performances. With thirteen different meeting rooms and thirty thousand square feet of conference space, the facility can accommodate a vast array of both large and small events. They offer the latest in technology with ceiling mounted projectors, drop-down screens and teleconferencing ability.
You can even book the nine hundred plus seat Grand Opera House for your event. Now that would make quite an impression on your clients or guests.
The MSU Riley center is drawing people from all over our state and nation to downtown Meridian for meetings and events.
And speaking of attracting people to Meridian; the State Games of Mississippi has been doing just that for many years. http://www.stategamesofms.org/
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Since its inception in 1992, the State Games of Mississippi has fostered competition between amateur athletes from across the state. The positive atmosphere surrounding the two week event is brought about by creating new sport s opportunities and by S.G.M.’s serving both as educators and cheerleaders to sports newcomers.
Throughout its 17 year history, the atmosphere surrounding the participants during the State Games is one of encouragement and good sportsmanship. The State Games models itself after the Olympics in that there is a parade of athletes, a torch lighting ceremony and a medal presentation. Although winning a medal in an event may be a great reward, the greater reward is for each athlete to continue to maintain a healthy lifestyle. |
The MSU Riley Center Theater is an experience unto itself. It will transform you back in time with its Victorian elegance that includes the original chandelier, handcrafted woodworking, private boxes and reproductions of original wall coverings.
As a matter of fact, after Wynton Marsalis performed here, he said, “We spent millions upon millions of dollars to replicate a sound this theatre got right in 1889”.
And speaking of sound, in our next story we travel up to Tupelo and meet a man who has an affinity for some of the earliest devices used to deliver the sound of music.
When Jeff Lee of Tupelo decides to play some old records, he has thousands to choose from in his collection and a choice of hundreds of machines on which to play them. Walt Grayson shows us a sample of Jeff's collection of early phonographs as we visit the Lee home on Mississippi Roads. Walt says the genius of the early recording process and the choice of material recorded makes this an interesting story to watch...and to listen to.
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