By Leah Schwarting

The Natchez Democrat

Natchez — This weekend, residents can explore the struggles of black Americans during the Civil War and Civil Rights Movement, flex their writing skills, celebrate and scream for their teams, or maybe just scream at Cox Hill’s scares.

Friday is forecast to have periods of clouds and sun, with temperatures reaching a high of 85 and a low of 68. Clouds are predicted to come in on Saturday with a high of 81 and low of 68, followed Sunday by rain, a thunderstorm and temperatures reaching a high of 74 and low of 64.

Black and Blue Civil War Living History Camp

Friday marks the start of the Black and Blue Civil War Living History Camp, which, this year, seeks to link the stories of black soldiers who fought for the Union during the Civil War and activists in the Civil Rights Movement.

Events start 5:30 p.m. Friday with a reception at the Natchez Museum of African American History and Culture, featuring civil rights activists including Dorie Ladner and the Rev. Al Sampson and photographer Roy Lewis. Participants will also be able to take a tour of local Civil War and civil rights sites.

Saturday, events will move to Historic Jefferson College starting at 11 a.m., when Ladner and Sampson will speak. At 1:30 p.m., 22 role players will share the stories of black Civil War soldiers for the living history portion of the weekend.

The camp ends Sunday afternoon with a sermon by Sampson at 2 p.m. at Beulah Baptist Church.

Friday night football

Several Miss-Lou teams will be playing home games this week.

Cathedral faces Columbia Academy at home for its Armed Forces Appreciation and senior night. Natchez High School will also host its Senior Night as it goes up against Wingfield.

Louisiana teams will be staying home, too, with Vidalia hosting its cancer awareness and senior night as it plays Marksville. Ferriday High will play Sterlington, and Delta Charter will go head-to-head with Sicily Island.

Trinity has an away game at WCCA for WCCA’s senior night, and ACCS will play at Simpson Academy.

All games are at 7 p.m.

Cox Hill Fall Festival

The Cox Hill Fall Festival is returning for its second weekend this year to provide visitors with ghoulish delights as well as raise money for one man’s battle with cancer.

Organizer Cathy Cox Warren said the haunted trail has some new additions, such as a new tunnel. Warren said the trail takes its inspiration from horror movies including “Insidious” and “Pet Sematary.”

After visitors are done with the trail, they can play a variety of games and listen to music.

All proceeds from the event go to help Marty Probst with his expenses as he battles cancer.

The festival opens Friday and Saturday and Oct. 30-31 at 18A Springfield Road at approximately 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children 8 and under.

For more information, or to volunteer, Warren can be reached at 601-431-3377.

Mississippi Writers Guild workshops

This Saturday, the Natchez Chapter of the Mississippi Writers Guild is hosting “A Day of Writing Workshops” at the Natchez Art Association on 409 Franklin St. in Natchez.

“It’s designed to provide high-level instruction and guidance to writers and aspiring writers across a broad spectrum of genres,” Guild President G. Mark LaFrancis said.

Workshop topics will include song, short story and memoir writing, poetry and self-publishing. A representative from the Mississippi Arts Commission, Connie Souto Learman, will also be at the event.

“She will present valuable information about arts commission grants for any type of artist, not just writers,” LaFrancis said.

Registration starts at 8:30 a.m., followed by memoir writing from 9 to 10 a.m., poetry writing from 10:10 to 11:10 a.m., song writing from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., short story writing from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m., self-publishing from 2:15 to 3 p.m. and grants for artists at 3 p.m.

Attendees are encouraged to bring any work, published or unpublished. The event offers 5.5 continuing education hours for teachers and is free to full-time students.

Learman’s presentation and Richelle Putnam’s session on memoir writing are free and open to the public. Visitors can attend other presentations for $10 each, or all presentations for $30.

For more information, LaFrancis can be reached at 601-442-0980.

Kingston United Methodist Church Annual Harvest

Festival

October is winding to a close, but everyone in the mood to celebrate the season can head on down to Kingston United Methodist Church’s Annual Harvest Festival this Saturday.

The festival kicks off at 5:30 p.m. at Kingston Community Center on Kingston Road. Festival-goers can enjoy a cake walk, raffle prizes and food at the event.