Applications for booths at the Copper Magnolia Festival are now being taken at Historic Jefferson College where the 26th annual event will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15.

This year marks the twenty-sixth year that the Copper Magnolia Festival has been held on the beautiful grounds of the historic site. The event will include crafts, music, delicious food, a plant sale and seminar, and a children’s area. Vendors will be selling various craft and flea market items. A free reggae concert will be provided by the Henry Turner, Jr. and Flavor band from 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

The Adams County Master Gardeners will hold their free fall garden workshop that will include a plant sale, composting information, how to grow roses, fall and holiday tablescapes, insect pest control information, and information on the restoration of the gardens at Rosedown. In the children’s area the Mississippi Museum of Art will host finger painting projects and face painting. Co-Lin’s S.H.A.R.E. will man a space jump and other activities. As usual, the museum, nature trails, and gift shop will also be open. There will also be a bake sale offered by the William Dunbar Chapter of the DAR.

Research revealed that the college sponsored agricultural fairs in the 1830s and 1840s. These early fairs gave local citizens an opportunity, to display vegetables and fruits, new farm machinery, needlework, quilts and other hand-sewn items. Today’s Copper Magnolia Festival and Flea Market continues this early tradition by allowing vendors to display and sell items and crafts of today.

The deadline for registering for the Copper Magnolia Festival is Sept. 12. There is a modest fee of $20 for a for-profit business or individual. That fee is waived for charitable organizations such as clubs, church groups, schools, and other civic organizations. Anyone wanting more information should contact Kay McNeil, P. O. Box 700, Washington, MS. 39190, or call 601 442-290l for more information and registration forms.

The Copper Magnolia Festival, sponsored by the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, is free and open to the public.

Kay McNeil is an Adams County resident.