By John Howell
Como Main Street Alliance invites members and friends to its annual meeting Monday night, April 20 where conversation will include discussion of beautifications projects, a visit from Farm Bureau magazine and today’s visit from a representative of the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area.

CMSA representative Karen Ott Mayer provided a short overview of the organization’s activities at the Tuesday night meeting of Como’s mayor and aldermen when she asked the town to pay one-half of the $1,000 annual membership fee for the Mississippi Main Street Association.
Alderwoman Ruby Higgenbotham provided the motion for Como to pay from its tourism funds $500 to allow Como to renew its MMSA membership for the third consecutive year.

Alderman John Walton provided the second and Alderwomen Teresa Dishmon and Sonia Hear added their vote to approve the payment. (Alderwoman Rachel Powell arrived shortly after the vote.)

Farm Bureau Magazine representatives had been in town to visit Marshall Bartlett’s farming operation, Mayer said.

“I gave them an hour tour of Como this morning and they’re going to do a whole feature in the July-August issue of the Farm Bureau publication. They print 200,000 copies of those magazines,” Mayer said.

Fam Tour today
Today Como is in the second day of its Familiarization Tour (FAM  Tour) sponsored by CMSA.
This tour aims to both educate locals about the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area and introduce the visitors to the rich cultural heritage of Como.

“These kinds of tours involve local businesses, those interested in tourism and economic development, town leaders and media–all in varying degrees. Some of the most powerful relationships can be built through these types of invitations where small businesses act as hosts and journalists are given the opportunity to explore — and write about — little known areas.

“We are really excited this group has taken time to schedule this two-day visit to Como where we have so many untold stories,” said Karen Ott Mayer, volunteer coordinator of the Como Main Street Alliance and owner of Moon Hollow Farm & Country House.

Scheduled visitors include Rolando Herts, the new director of The Delta Center for Culture and Learning and the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area (MDNHA) and Lee Brigham Aylward, program associate for Education and Community Outreach with Delta State University.

Other visitors scheduled for the FAM tour are Kim Terrell, executive director of the DeSoto County Tourism Association, and Jeannie Waller Zieren, director of Community Relations/District Director with the Mississippi Main Street Association.

“The Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area Management Plan calls for us to come together as a region and promote tourism,” said Herts.

“The Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area Passport Program provides all 18 counties in our region a valuable opportunity to participate in this important initiative. Travelers seeking our passport stamps will be encouraged to visit each county and learn about local attractions, restaurants, and retail establishments,” Herts added.

Locals participating in the tour include CMSA board members, local artist Sharon McConnell-Dickerson and a visiting journalist from France, Francoise Digel whose work focuses on the blues music in the Delta area.

Visitors will be hosted by Como Inn on Main, Moon Hollow Farm & Country House, Home Place Pastures and Main Street Antiques Thursday evening and Friday morning. Anyone else interested in joining the tour can contact Main Street Antiques at 662.526.1000 or Moon Hollow Farm at 901.340.7281.

Businesses and organizations interested in learning more about the MDNHA Passport Program can contact The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University.