Another year of the Great Mississippi River Balloon Race has come and gone with colorful balloons filling the Miss-Lou skies.

Before we prepare for the week ahead, let’s take a look back at some of the highlights from last week:

A variety of multicolored balloons took to the skies this weekend for the 29th annual balloon race. After a battle with weather conditions last year, organizers said this year was pivotal to the future of the race. High winds grounded some flights this weekend, but we were glad to see so many locals and visitors coming in and out of the festival grounds, as well as throughout Natchez and Vidalia. We hope to see the race continue to lift off for many years to come.

Trinity students learned more about the world around them when the school hosted its first World Hunger Project. The event is a partnership between Trinity’s global studies initiative and also kicked off Trinity’s month-long food drive. Students celebrated the United Nations World Food Day, which focuses attention on issues concerning food and hunger. We’re glad to see students in our community broadening their horizons through these types of projects.

Monica Smith is using her experiences with breast cancer to help other women in the Miss-Lou who are in similar situations. After battling with breast cancer, Smith created Monica’s Hope, a non-profit organization that raises money to fund mammograms for local women. To help kick off the organization’s efforts, Smith is organizing a breast cancer walk to help raise funds. We hope the community comes out to support this great cause.

Let’s enjoy the sunny skies forecast for our area and keep the good news coming as we prepare for another week in the Miss-Lou.