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HATTIESBURG
-- The 2003 Mississippi Holiday Spectacular, set for July 3, marks
the fourth year the City of Hattiesburg and The University of Southern
Mississippi have joined together to present a Fourth of July celebration
event in the Hattiesburg area.
Jay Dean, event
organizer and musical director for the university's Symphony Orchestra,
said this year's collaboration is going to be "a guaranteed
crowd pleaser."
The Spectacular
will pull together all the key ingredients for a traditional Fourth
of July celebration--fun, food and fireworks, and traditional American
patriotic music. The university's Lake Sehoy, located at the corner
of Classic Drive and Golf Course Road in Hattiesburg, will serve
as the event's new home, thanks to the newest team member in the
holiday event collaboration, the Southern Miss Department of Recreational
Sports.
"Our country
has never been more aware of our freedoms than now-the eyes of the
world are focused on us as a nation of great pride," Dean said.
"We strongly believe in this effort and would like for this
to be an annual event. With the community's support, south Mississippi
could conceivably have the best Fourth of July celebration in the
region."
The gates will
open at 3 p.m., and the music begins at 7 p.m. with the orchestra
taking the stage at 8 p.m. in a pops-style concert, under the direction
of Dean and guest conductor Greg Fuller.
Special guest
performers featured with the orchestra will include the Mississippi
"Gear-Up" Middle School Orchestra, percussionist John
Wooton and vocalist Rachel Taylor.
The Spectacular's
traditional musical conclusion will be a performance of Tchaikovsky's
"1812 Overture" by the orchestra, complete with blasting
cannons, courtesy of the Camp Shelby Cannon Unit, and a professional
fireworks display at 9:15 p.m.
Sponsors for
this year's event include BancorpSouth, the Hattiesburg American,
Rock 104, B-95, Comcast Cable, Hattiesburg Clinic and Turtle Creek
Mall.
Admission is
free. For more information, call the Southern Miss Symphony office
at (601) 266-4001 or Recreational Sports at Southern Miss at (601)
266-5405.
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