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The Rundown: Tuesday 2/18/20

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Good morning Tupelo! Today is Tuesday, February 18, 2020. It is the 49th day of the year. There are 317 days left in the year and 36 days left of winter! Spring starts in 37 days. Don’t forget Tupelo’s Mardi Gras street party is coming up this weekend on Saturday the 22nd!

HAPPENING TODAY

Today in Tupelo, here are the things going on around town:

Our Tupelo also has a FAMILY FOUR-PACK of tickets to see the WWE Wrestlemania show at the Bancorpsouth Arena on March 28 to give away to our followers here at OurTupelo! For rules and how to enter, just click the green button below!

We also have a pair of tickets to give away to see Championship Wrestling featuring WWE’s Jerry the King Lawler at Tupelo Con coming up on Saturday, March 7th, for our followers! For rules and how to enter, just click the orange button below!


In Columbus, the Columbus Arts Council presents their Main Gallery Exhibit, Frank McGuigan and Joy Phillips, open at 9 a.m. for the entire month of February.


MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT

Chance Stanley will be at Steele’s Dive at 7 p.m.

The Héctor Anchondo Band will be at the Blue Canoe at 7:30 p.m.

Old Venice will have Tuesday Night Trivia at 6 p.m.

O’Charley’s will have Tuesday Night Trivia at 7 p.m.

Kendall Street Company will be at Proud Larry’s in Oxford for a free show at 9 p.m.


We’re here to keep YOU in the know, and we don’t want to miss a thing!

To notify us of an event we’ve missed listing, or that you want us to know about coming up, you have options!

  • You can tag our Facebook page on a post
  • You can mark us as a co-host on your Facebook event
  • You can also send us a direct message on our Facebook page
  • You can shoot us an email at submit@ourtupelo.com

Be sure to check out our extended calendar of events as well, for upcoming happenings in the area!

Have a great day and get out there and enjoy Our Tupelo!


* We update all listings periodically as new information becomes available.

If you’d like to become a sponsor of our daily Rundown, please contact joshua.ballard@ourtupelo.com or call 662-260-1498

Fried Peach Pies!

Join Amanda Sanderford, the chef behind Deep South Delicacies, and the ultimate Mississippi Foodie, Jeff Jones, as they show us the secret behind the best fried peach pies — just like your granny used to make!

Steal the Deal by Power Shopping!

I’m a shopper. Anyone who knows me knows that. However, what you may not know is that I consider myself a ‘power’ shopper.

That doesn’t mean I go into stores and strongarm the clerks, or lurch around after the managers in order to get a few dollars off of my final bill.

What it means is that I try to never shop without a store coupon or other discount, such as a military discount or even a senior citizen discount.

With the invention of the iPhone, my physical coupon clipping is a thing of the past; I can now coupon digitally. It’s quick, it’s easy, and it’s free!

I know that signing up for store emails can cause a backup in your inbox, and, at times, you can feel coerced into spending more money than you actually have. So, the first, and most important rule of Power Shopping is, that you have to be careful and train your brain to know when spending simply cannot happen, and be strong enough to refrain from doing it. That’s tough at times, especially when the same store taunts you with three or more emails a day, flashing their two-day-only sale in your face. Shame on them!

Power Shopping entails shopping with said coupons, and also includes periodically popping into stores every week or two to watch for a price drop.

While it is true that waiting sometimes causes you to forfeit your watch item, it also allows you time to see if they will eventually mark it down. Power Shopping takes patience, and sometimes, being patient causes a loss. Unfortunately, you will just have to learn to deal with that aspect of it.

Three stores in the Tupelo area that offer great weekly deals are: Belk, Ollies, and Shoe Carnival. 

A few years ago, I signed up on the Belk.com website and they send me coupons EVERY day. Seriously. EVERY SINGLE DAY. They are unrelenting taunters! But, if you watch those coupons and those sales closely, you can actually come across a lot of budget-friendly items for personal use or gift giving.

This past Saturday, I received an email alert from Belk about their President’s Day Sale. Some of their sale items were beyond blow-you-away! Unfortunately, I cannot discuss their BEST deals, because I bought some of these items for Christmas gifts next year, and they read my column. (I don’t want to ruin the surprise.)  These have already been wrapped and are happily residing in my gift closet!

What I will tell you is this is the time of the year they start really reducing inventory!

Y’all, they have so many great things marked 80% off right now! All of those cute little gifts they had in the store before Christmas — some of them have been reduced as much as 90%!

If you have children, I would call these “Teacher gifts for next year.”
If you have grandchildren, I would call them “Grandma got the goods” gifts.
If you work in an office, I would call them “Of course, I got you something” gifts.
And if it’s just you and your spouse, I would call them “I’ve already finished Christmas shopping for you next year” gifts.

No matter who is on your gift list, you will be sure to find something for them in the clearance section. It just takes a little time to search for them.

Set aside an hour just to walk through the store and look for those clearance signs this week. You will be amazed, and you will love getting your receipt! It’s always a rush for me when, at the end it tells you how much you’ve saved! It’s a true Power Shopping moment.

Oh, and don’t pass by those silver triple-decker shelves sitting in the middle of the aisles.  Everything on them is reduced to less than $3.00! I won’t tell you what I purchased off of one of these carts a few weeks ago, but the items I bought were regularly $70.00 each.

I literally framed that receipt, because at the bottom was printed, “You saved $710.00! My husband was even impressed. In fact, I think he was quite proud.  BAM! BOOM! SHAMA-LAMA-DING-DONG! Get signed up for those coupons, folks!

Shoe Carnival is another local store that has simply amazing deals. Yes, they too, are ‘taunters’ but with good reason. 

I signed up with them because they are notorious for having ‘By One Pair-Get Another Pair ½ Off’ sales.  Plus, they send you coupons you can use in addition to their BOGO deals. Their latest coupon was $15.00 off any $99.98 purchase. While $99.98 seems like a high dollar amount, it really isn’t — if you consider you are going to get AT LEAST four pair of name-brand shoes for that amount. You could actually outfit the entire family in new shoes for less than $100.00 with this coupon combined with their deal! 

Right now, many of their winter boots are on sale for as little as $14.98 a pair.  I always stock up for the next year when they have this clearance sale. I mean, really.  $14.98 for a pair of boots? I would be nuts not to buy them! And usually, by the time the winter rears its ugly head again, I have a number of folks in need of new boots, so it is definitely money well-spent. 

Also, if you or your spouse are active or retired military, they will give you 10% off of your total bill if you show them your military ID.  PLUS, if the clerks are in a good humor, ask them to let you spin the wheel at the front of the store. (It’s so exciting! It makes me feel like I am on Wheel of Fortune!) 

Depending on what the arrow lands on, you could get from $1.00-$4.00 off of your already discounted purchase, a pair of socks, or at the very least, a new frisbee for the kids!  WINNER-WINNER-CHICKEN DINNER!

Be sure to sign up for their Shoe Perks Reward Program. It’s free, and for every dollar you spend, you earn a point, which turns into cash you can use for your purchases.  Sign up online at shoecarnival.com, and they will email you a $10.00 off of a $59.98 purchase coupon to use in store or online. Sometimes they will even combine coupons, making your bill much less!

There is one problem I have encountered by shopping and wrapping early: By the time Christmas gets here, I don’t remember what I got everyone! But no worries. I’ve come up with two ways of correcting this issue:
One way is to unwrap and then rewrap all the gifts during the first week of December.
The other way is to just go with it and be as surprised as your recipient.
I have utilized both of these methods, and I much prefer the second.
I love a good surprise! Don’t you?

Bottom line: Anyone can be a Power Shopper. It just takes signing up for emails, reading those emails, then going to the store to find the prize.  It’s great fun — and trust me, Christmas shopping from your closet is much easier than fighting the traffic and crowds at the mall in December.  

Music Lineup: Saturday 2/22/20

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In Tupelo —

Don’t forget Tupelo’s Mardi Gras street party is tonight! Get yourself downtown and enjoy the festivities!

Steele’s Dive will have ZOOLIGAN’s

Blue Canoe will have OTIS at 9:30 p.m.

The Stables will have Tim & Eric

Romie’s Grocery will have Proximity Rule

Old Venice will have Karaoke with DJ Dayton at 7 p.m.

Woody’s will have DJ E Karaoke at 8 p.m.

The Shade Tree will have Brittany McGee at 8:30 p.m.

Forklift will have live music, but no word on who.

In Fulton —

The Sippin’ Parlor will have Karly Clayton at Theo’s Feedmill in Fulton at 7pm

Tim Sheffield and Brian Morrison will be at Legends

In Oxford —

Proud Larry’s will have Lost Dog Street Band at 7 p.m.

Soulshine Pizza Factory will have Big Cedar Fever at 8 p.m.

In Columbus —

The Bonfire Boys will be at Zachary’s at 9:30 p.m.

The Sunstroke House will have The Krickets at 7 p.m.

Billy & The Medicine Men will be at Double D’s in Steens at 8 p.m.

In Counce —

Tosha Hill will be at Freddy T’s on The Rooftop at 7 p.m.


We’re here to keep YOU in the know, and we don’t want to miss a thing!

To notify us of an event we’ve missed listing, or that you want us to know about coming up, you have options!

  • You can tag our Facebook page on a post
  • You can mark us as a co-host on your Facebook event
  • You can also send us a direct message on our Facebook page
  • You can shoot us an email at submit@ourtupelo.com

Be sure to check out our extended calendar of events as well, for upcoming happenings in the area!

Have a great day and get out there and enjoy Our Tupelo!


* We update all listings periodically as new information becomes available.

Music Lineup: Friday 2/21/20

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MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT

In Tupelo —

Steele’s Dive will have Full Tilt at 9 p.m.

Blue Canoe will have George McConnell & Bill McCrory at 9:30 p.m.

The Shade Tree Lounge will have Bid Daddy Karaoke at 7 p.m.

The Stables will have Ashley Tutor at 9 p.m.

Old Venice will have Hannah + Karly at 8 p.m.

Woody’s will have All Country Karaoke at 8 p.m.

Romie’s Grocery will have Wes Sheffield and the Slowburners

Nautical Whimsey will have Seed Tick Road

Forklift will have live music, but no word on who.

In Fulton —

Legends Sports Grill will have Karaoke with Tim Sheffield

In West Point —

The Hill Bar & Grill will have Robbie Ross

In Oxford —

Soulshine Pizza Factory will have Jamie Todd at 8 p.m.


We’re here to keep YOU in the know, and we don’t want to miss a thing!

To notify us of an event we’ve missed listing, or that you want us to know about coming up, you have options!

  • You can tag our Facebook page on a post
  • You can mark us as a co-host on your Facebook event
  • You can also send us a direct message on our Facebook page
  • You can shoot us an email at submit@ourtupelo.com

Be sure to check out our extended calendar of events as well, for upcoming happenings in the area!

Have a great day and get out there and enjoy Our Tupelo!


* We update all listings periodically as new information becomes available.

Music Lineup: Thursday 2/20/20

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MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT

In Tupelo —

Steele’s Dive will have Jason Childers at 7 p.m.

Old Venice will have Karaoke with DJ Dayton at 7 p.m.

Woody’s will have DJ E Karaoke at 8 p.m.

Romies Grocery will have Jimmy Barnes at 6:30 p.m.

In Starkville —

Drake Bell will be at Rick’s Cafe at 8 p.m.

In Oxford —

Proud Larry’s will have Daniel Donato at 9 p.m.


We’re here to keep YOU in the know, and we don’t want to miss a thing!

To notify us of an event we’ve missed listing, or that you want us to know about coming up, you have options!

  • You can tag our Facebook page on a post
  • You can mark us as a co-host on your Facebook event
  • You can also send us a direct message on our Facebook page
  • You can shoot us an email at submit@ourtupelo.com

Be sure to check out our extended calendar of events as well, for upcoming happenings in the area!

Have a great day and get out there and enjoy Our Tupelo!


* We update all listings periodically as new information becomes available.

Music Lineup: Wednesday 2/19/20

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MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT

In Tupelo —

Steele’s Dive will have Karly Clayton at 7 p.m.

Blue Canoe will have RCOSWAMP at 7:30 p.m.

The Shade Tree Lounge will have Big Daddy Karaoke at 7 p.m.

Mugshots will have Tatum Shappley at 6:30 p.m.

Old Venice will have Spunk Monkees (Lite) at 7 p.m.

Forklift will have live music, but no word on who.

In Oxford —

Proud Larry’s will have The Blues Doctors at 7 p.m.

Hannah Roye will be at The Coop in Oxford at 6 p.m.


We’re here to keep YOU in the know, and we don’t want to miss a thing!

To notify us of an event we’ve missed listing, or that you want us to know about coming up, you have options!

  • You can tag our Facebook page on a post
  • You can mark us as a co-host on your Facebook event
  • You can also send us a direct message on our Facebook page
  • You can shoot us an email at submit@ourtupelo.com

Be sure to check out our extended calendar of events as well, for upcoming happenings in the area!

Have a great day and get out there and enjoy Our Tupelo!


* We update all listings periodically as new information becomes available.

Ollie’s Bargain Center

At long last, Tupelo has an Ollie’s Bargain Outlet! I am doing a major Happy Dance! Why? Well, if you are asking that question, then you, apparently, have not been inside one of these incredibly delicious stores. 

My first trip to Ollie’s was a year and a half ago when I was in Hattiesburg. Then, this past year, I frequented the Ollie’s in Little Rock. But now? NOW, I have an Ollie’s a mere 15 minutes away. Hooray!!!!  

Ollie’s Bargain Outlet is filled with a plethora of ‘good stuff cheap,’ so it is written under their banner — and so say I.

To me, Ollie’s is like a cross between a discounted Wal-Mart and a surprise party; the prices are great, but you never know what you are going to find until you get there.  

Let me start with their book section.  It. Is. Amazing! They have a lot of popular Christian books, Bibles of all kinds, Bible cases, and inspirational reading materials, all deeply discounted. Seriously discounted. An example, you ask? Here’s one for you: Today they had the book, Jesus Today, a follow-up of the book, Jesus Calling. The book is bound in lavender leather and nicely embossed with a beautiful design. I actually bought two of these for Christmas gifts this past year. Ollie’s price is less than $5.00! The Bibles range in price from $10.00 up to $29.00. Many of them offer larger print, making them perfect for anyone who might have difficulty reading the smaller print Bibles.

Their blank journals are beautifully designed and only cost $2.99! What a wonderful little happy gift these make! (Teacher Appreciation Week alert!) And on the flip side, teachers can snag one of those unusually pricey coloring books for a mere $1.49!  How about that for a good behavior incentive prize? BOOM! Note: BOTH of these make great gifts for your elder friends. Who doesn’t love to color?

 Oh!  And did I mention you get FREE coffee while you shop?  Hey, it’s like going to one of those big book stores that house the high-priced coffee shops…EXCEPT THE COFFEE IS FREE!  Sip while you shop!

One thing I ONLY buy at Ollie’s are paint brushes.  They carry Steelton Tools and Evolve paint brushes, which, for those of you who are non-painters, are good quality.  The prices vary, but the ones I get are $1.99-$2.99.  

I also buy our dog toys and dog treats there.  Y’all! Those things are expensive! However, at Ollie’s, you can carry out a top-notch gift for your own Wonder Dog for as little as $2.99! They even carry the ones we have to get for our pup: You know, the titanium-based ones that they cannot chew the stuffing out of in five minutes flat. (I am kidding about the titanium, but they do have really durable ones!) Doggy treats start at $1.99 a bag. They also have EVERYTHING else you might need for your precious pawed friends, and they have LOTS of it! Go getcha some!

Ollie’s also carries sports equipment, food, dishes, cookware, small appliances, a hodge-podge of groceries and spices, coffee, cleaning supplies, light bulbs, shop equipment, automotive supplies, flooring, mattresses, toys, patio supplies, pool supplies, and wonderful towels and linens! WHEW! Oh, there is a lot more, but I’m out of space and trying to stuff everything I bought into the gift closet, so you will just have to go see it all for yourself.

Go.

Be amazed.

Be joyous!

And sign up for Ollie’s Army! It’s free, and you earn great discounts for every dollar you spend. 

Christmas and birthday shopping just got easier, Tupelo…and CHEAPER!

Ollie’s Bargain Center is located in the old Toys R Us building at Barnes Crossing.

The Rundown: Monday 2/17/20

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Good morning Tupelo! Today is Monday, February 17, 2020. It is the 48th day of the year. Today is Washington’s birthday and President’s Day. There are 318 days left in the year and 37 days left of winter! Spring starts in 38 days. Don’t forget Tupelo’s Mardi Gras street party is coming up this weekend on Saturday the 22nd!

HAPPENING TODAY

Today in Tupelo, here are the things going on around town:

Our Tupelo also has a FAMILY FOUR-PACK of tickets to see the WWE Wrestlemania show at the Bancorpsouth Arena on March 28 to give away to our followers here at OurTupelo! For rules and how to enter, just click the green button below!

Tupelo-Lee Humane Society invites you to Kitten Yoga! Kitten Yoga is held every Monday evening from 6:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.. Classes are $10 per person and will be taught by professional yoga instructors in an environment filled with kitten happiness!


North Mississippi Medical Center will host a free smoking cessation class for individuals who are trying to stop smoking or using other tobacco products. The classes will meet at 5:30 p.m. Mondays, in Room 21 of NMMC’s East Tower, 830 S. Gloster St.


In Columbus, the Columbus Arts Council presents their Main Gallery Exhibit, Frank McGuigan and Joy Phillips, open at 9 a.m. for the entire month of February.


In Corinth, Garden Bros Circus will be at the Crossroads Arena, with shows at 1 PM, 4 PM, and 7 PM.


MUSIC & ENTERTAINMENT

Unfortunately, we didn’t find any live local music for today.


We’re here to keep YOU in the know, and we don’t want to miss a thing!

To notify us of an event we’ve missed listing, or that you want us to know about coming up, you have options!

  • You can tag our Facebook page on a post
  • You can mark us as a co-host on your Facebook event
  • You can also send us a direct message on our Facebook page
  • You can shoot us an email at submit@ourtupelo.com

Be sure to check out our extended calendar of events as well, for upcoming happenings in the area!

Have a great day and get out there and enjoy Our Tupelo!


* We update all listings periodically as new information becomes available.

If you’d like to become a sponsor of our daily Rundown, please contact joshua.ballard@ourtupelo.com or call 662-260-1498

Home Sweet Tupelo: Why We Made It Our New Home

Last year was interesting, joyful, heartbreaking, surprising and life-changing. Looking back, I should have been prepared for a wild year, but I walked into 2019 with blind faith that it would, somehow, be a good year. Despite a few ups and downs, I think I can say it was one for the books, at least for my family.

Perhaps the most monumental event of 2019 for me was purchasing my first home with my husband. We’ve been together for 11 years, and for the better part of our married years, we’ve lived in my husband’s grandmother’s home in Guntown, Mississippi. At the beginning of 2019, we never would have guessed that by September we would be purchasing and moving into a new home in Tupelo.

You see, as Mama Gay’s aging home grows older, it comes with more problems. Some of those problems were just too expensive for our budget and we were really outgrowing the home anyway.

Around spring, my husband and I started weighing our options. Did we want to find temporary housing and completely renovate Mama Gay’s home — which we still loved dearly? Did we want to try to build a house? Where would we buy or build a home?

We ruled out renovating the home we were in, as well as building a new one pretty quickly for a few reasons. We didn’t want to figure out temporary housing and we also didn’t want to deal with the hassle of construction. So we decided to start looking for a home to buy. 

At first, we just assumed that we would stick around the Saltillo / Guntown area because our son was in school there and finally thriving after having a difficult time at his previous school. He has autism and dyslexia, and we’ve seen firsthand what being in the wrong environment can do to a child with special needs and learning disabilities, so we weren’t too eager to pull him out of his school.

But we had difficulty finding a good home in our budget that wasn’t in a flood zone, so we started thinking about the other surrounding towns. We knew that we had to stay close by in the area, since neither my husband nor I planned to change jobs. 

My first choice was Tupelo, particularly East Tupelo. I had lived there in my early twenties and had always wanted to move back to the area. I felt a special connection to it because I lived here as an infant and my dad’s family is from the Eastside. However, my husband is from Baldwyn and it took some convincing to get him to consider leaving the country for city life — but when he saw how many homes were available in our price range, he opened his mind to the possibility.

Now, everybody has their preferences on faith, and to each his own, but I’m a believer and the praying type. When I find myself faced with a difficult decision, I bring it to the Lord. So I began praying about where the Lord thought we should have a house.

In the meantime, we spent hours on the weekends driving all over Lee county looking for homes for sale and checking out houses we’ve seen online and usually coming up with nada. We also weighed the pros and cons of what it would be like to live in each community around the Lee county area. 

After weighing the pros and cons of each little town and the county, we realized it wasn’t really helping our decision. So we started making a list of what we wanted out of the town that we lived in instead.

We wanted great schools, a community that constantly offers things to do for the entire family, a town on the move that loves progress but doesn’t forget tradition. 

We wanted a unique, thriving town, one that celebrated many walks of life. We wanted access to entertainment, art, and local color. We wanted our kids to have access to the best schools in the area. We wanted a city that promoted healthy living for the whole family with walkable streets and nearby parks. 

Most importantly, my husband and I wanted a town we both felt truly connected to — and when it came down to it, Tupelo fit the bill.

The best part? We found a home that hit all of our needs (and a good bit of our wants) in the exact area I wanted, just down the road a piece from the birthplace of the King. 

Life in Tupelo hasn’t been perfect, but it’s been pretty good so far. Sure, life’s thrown us some curveballs. But we’ve also had some truly beautiful times together in the short time we’ve been here.

Since we’ve moved here, we’ve listened to live music downtown, played on the playground, walked around Veterans’ Park, celebrated our first holiday season in our new home, rang in the new year with fireworks, a ball drop, and music at Fairpark, strolled through the Christmas lights at Ballard Park, and enjoyed many car rides throughout the town sharing stories of Elvis and other histories of Tupelo.

We’re just five months in, and Tupelo is already reshaping our lives. And as we settle into our first full year of living here, I’m more excited than ever about our choice to move back “home.”