NATCHEZ — Natchez got more national exposure this month when two upcoming events were featured in this month’s National Geographic Adventure Magazine.

When the Mississippi Development Authority bought advertising for the state in the magazine, they were allowed space to place information about the state, Natchez Tourism Director Walter Tipton said.

The state submitted five upcoming activities, two of which were in Natchez. The Phatwater Kayak Challenge and the balloon races were two of the three events that made the magazine.

The October edition includes articles about biking and exploration.

“This is no small thing,” Tipton said. “To be listed in a publication directed toward high adventure puts us in a high adventure category.”

The advertising would likely reach 5,000 people, Tipton said.

“It gives us a lot more exposure to the national market,” Tipton said. “It focuses on a different demographic than the group that comes to tour (antebellum) homes.”

The list of Mississippi activities is grouped with a four-page guide to various states across the South.

The magazine asked the state to submit upcoming activities to include in the spot, Sandy Bynum, advertising director for the MDA tourism department, said.

“We chose five and had our ad agency send those in,” Bynum said..

Those included the Great Delta Bear Affair in Rolling Fork, The Great River Balloon Race in Natchez, the Phatwater Kayak Challenge in Natchez, the Mississippi Delta Blues and Heritage Festival in Greenville and the Biloxi Seafood Fest.

“Those happened to be great outdoor festivals in the October timeframe,” she said. “We felt they would be interesting to the readers and enjoyable, and we knew they were first-class events.”

The two Natchez events and the Great Delta Bear Affair won the spot. The Mississippi Phatwater Kayak Challenge will take place Oct. 13, and the Balloon Race will be Oct. 19 through 21.