VIDALIA &8212; Vidalia will host next year&8217;s second annual Miss-Lou Regional Tourism Summit in August.

The purpose for the summit, committee member Sally Durkin said, is to generate ideas on how to promote tourism using the Miss-Lou&8217;s resources.

The agreement at last year&8217;s summit, held in Natchez, was to change the place the summit would be held each year.

&8220;We&8217;re elated that this year&8217;s event will be in Vidalia, but we feel that this is a Miss-Lou event and by working with people like Natchez&8217;s Tourism Director Walter Tipton, we&8217;re able to achieve this,&8221; Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland said.

&8220;Next year&8217;s theme is &8220;Home Grown or Grow Your Own,&8221; and will concentrate on how to create resources in our markets, community or improve existing businesses, using agriculture,&8221; Durkin said.

Durkin said the farm at Frogmore Plantation is a prime example of how agriculture attracts tourism.

&8220;People are just fascinated by how farmers in the 1800s picked cotton with cotton sacks, and not machinery, and did most of the work by hand,&8221; Durkin said.

Former Ferriday mayor Glen McGlothin is also working on the committee for the summit.

McGlothin said another way he is looking to attract tourists is by utilizing the region&8217;s wildlife.

McGlothin said he would like to look at duck and dove hunting as well as bird watching to attract tourists to the Miss-Lou.

The summit will take place from Aug. 7-9 of next year in Vidalia&8217;s new conference complex on the riverfront, which Copeland said will be open in March.