Students can expect numerous festivities this week with the grand openings of both The Junction and the Barnes & Noble bookstore inside The Cullis Wade Depot.
The grand opening of Barnes & Noble will begin on Wednesday and continue until Thursday leading up to the first Mississippi State football game of the season.
Barnes & Noble general manager Bobby Hamous is looking forward to people coming to see the new store.
“We will have several bands performing as well as 25 percent off of selected store merchandise,” he said.
The full-size store, located in the Cullis Wade Depot, features a Starbucks cafe and a large selection of books for entertainment and study. The first floor of the store is packed with novels, literature and just about anything any reader could want. The second floor is where students can find their textbooks and any essential college supplies, including pens, notebooks and MSU-themed clothing.
On Wednesday the celebration begins at 10 a.m. with store tours, artist drawings in the cafe and acoustic musician Bill Cooke performing until 11:30 a.m.
The Black Voices Choir will be performing in the atrium at noon followed by book signings by local authors Joe Woods, who wrote “Old Main Burning: A Tale of Love and Murder in Mississippi,” and Nancy Hargrove, the author of “Landscape as Symbol in the Poetry of T.S. Eliot” and “The Journey Toward Ariel: Sylvia Plath’s Poetry of 1956-1959.”
The band Joe Whaley and the Benders will perform at 1 p.m. preceding the Phi Beta Sigma step group, which will be performing at 3 p.m. At 3:30 the MSU Gospel will be taking the stage. The faculty jazz band, The State Messengers, will perform at 4 p.m. followed by The Persians who will perform until the store closes.
On Thursday the festivities start back up with a Coffee Happy Hour in Starbucks in which the first 250 guests will receive a free bagel. There will be artist drawings and artist Taylor Poole will perform on piano until noon.
Barnes & Noble will have a basketball shootout at 11 a.m. followed by a performance by the band Tandem at 1 p.m. President Foglsong’s rock band, Bark, will perform at 3:45 p.m. and 5 p.m. will see the band Mississippi Bluebloods who will perform until 7 p.m. After the Bluebloods complete their set the MSU vs. South Carolina football game will be broadcast on ESPN in the Davis Wade Stadium.
Children’s entertainment will also be provided and includes balloon sculptors and face painting. The MSU Cheerleaders will make an appearance as well as Miss MSU Kylie Estes.
The grand opening of Barnes & Noble is a free celebration for students, faculty and guests of the MSU campus to enjoy. Anyone who loves reading, music and great entertainment should stop by the Depot and enjoy the festivities.