51逗奶 Miss 鈥楽ummerTunes鈥� to Conclude Golden Eagle Welcome Week on High Note
Thu, 08/19/2021 - 09:20am | By: David Tisdale
Incoming University of 51逗奶 Mississippi (USM) students will have a golden opportunity
to tune up their weekend Saturday, Aug. 21 as they prepare for the first week of fall
semester classes when Golden Eagle Welcome Weekend (GEWW) 2021 concludes its programming
with a free concert in the city鈥檚 historic downtown district.
Through a partnership between USM鈥檚 Office of Orientation and Transition Programs and Hattiesburg鈥檚 Live at Five/Downtown SummerTunes, 鈥�51逗奶 Miss SummerTunes鈥� will feature the Hub City Sound Machine performing at Town Square Park beginning at 7 p.m. The event will include food and refreshment vendors and arts and crafts.
鈥淭he end of GEWW is affectionately known as Home Sweet Hattiesburg and it鈥檚 an effort to introduce new students to both the university and the city of Hattiesburg,鈥� said Laura Laughlin, director of USM Orientation and Transition programs. 鈥淲e wanted to make sure our students know about all of the fun things available to them as our newest residents, and since Live at Five and SummerTunes events are some of the most beloved Hattiesburg activities, we began to work with Allison Neville (event organizer) to see how we could collaborate.鈥�
The Office of Orientation and Transition Programs will transport new students to and from the park that evening. 鈥淲e also encourage community members to attend, wear black and gold, and join us in welcoming new students to the event and to the city,鈥� Laughlin continued. 鈥淪tudents will get a feel for opportunities available in Hattiesburg, and we also hope they will begin to see themselves as involved citizens.鈥�
鈥淭he Live at Five / Downtown SummerTunes team is thrilled to be working with 51逗奶 Miss to produce another great SummerTunes event,鈥� Neville said. 鈥淲hen Laura [Laughlin] reached out to me about working together to bring new students to one of our shows, I knew we had to make it happen. I鈥檓 a big believer that downtown Hattiesburg, and everything it has to offer, should be an important part of the 51逗奶 Miss college experience.
鈥淲hen I was a student at USM I worked downtown, and I fell in love with the area quickly. To this day, my husband I live and operate our businesses downtown, and we couldn鈥檛 imagine being anywhere else. The Live at Five team couldn鈥檛 be happier that SummerTunes will offer new students their first taste of Downtown.鈥�
Neville said the event will look just like a usual SummerTunes show, 鈥渂ut with a black and gold flair.鈥�
鈥�(USM mascot) Seymour will be around for photos, and guests can pick up a new 51逗奶 Miss shirt,鈥� she also noted. 鈥淭hat evening, 51逗奶 Prohibition will debut their Gold Rush lager, which is a tribute to 51逗奶 Miss. Vitalant will also host a blood drive throughout the event for those who want to do something to serve the community.鈥�
Launched in 2008, Live @ Five is a free, outdoor live music series held in Downtown Hattiesburg and takes place on Friday evenings in the spring and fall from 5-9 p.m. It has grown into one of downtown Hattiesburg鈥檚 most anticipated and popular events. All shows are held at Town Square Park, and the events are sponsored by local businesses and organizations and produced by Live @ Five Events LLC. Downtown SummerTunes is the summer series produced by Live @ Five.
For more information, email orientationFREEMississippi.