A new tenant at the Outlets of Mississippi, Connection City ePLEX, will open in July. The facility is an esports arena that will include gaming and virtual reality machines as well as tournaments and leagues for games such as Fortnite, Call of Duty and more.

Connection City ePLEX will open directly across from the Outlets of Mississippi Food Court. The ePLEX will have 50 gaming stations and an elevated arena stage for fans. Gamers can play individually by the hour, join leagues, or compete in weekly tournaments with cash prizes.

The ePLEX will feature two VR Studios ATOM units, three wireless HTC Vive pods and two VR game pods. In addition to the games, the facility has three party rooms, as well as the Clutch Bar, which will sell energy drinks, sodas, snacks, domestic and imported beer, wine, cocktails and more.

ePLEX staff will clean all gaming equipment after every customer use, a release from the Outlets says. The ePLEX uses CleanBox ultraviolet technology on its VR headgear that is specifically designed for VR venues.

For more information, visit theeplex.com or follow the ePLEX on Facebook.

Mississippi Museum of Art Reopening in July

The Mississippi Museum of Art announced that it will begin reopening in stages starting on July 1 after temporarily closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The MMA will hold an initial members-only period and will open to the general public on July 8.

On view from July 1, 2020 through January 10, 2021, MMA's current exhibit, "Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, and Their Times: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts," will be on view from July 1 through Jan. 10, 2021. First responders and essential workers receive free admission throughout the exhibition.

The special exhibition features 74 works by French artists of the 19th and 20th centuries, including Edgar Degas, Eugène Delacroix, Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Pablo Picasso, Henri Rousseau and Vincent van Gogh. The collection is due to return to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in January 2021. VMFA published a catalogue for the traveling exhibition, which is available for sale in the museum’s store.

Mississippi Children’s Museum Reopening June 23

The Mississippi Children’s Museum announced that it will reopen to the public on June 23, with new ticketing procedures and expanded cleaning protocols in response to health and safety guidelines for COVID-19.

To manage capacity, guests must have a timed reservation for admission. Guests can purchase timed entry tickets online at mschildrensmuseum.org. Museum members will still have free admission but also must reserve an entry time online.

In addition to limited occupancy and timed ticket visits, the museum is placing physical distancing reminders throughout the building, expanded cleaning protocols and training for staff, requiring masks for all museum staff, placing an increased number of hand sanitizer stations and offering additional outdoor programming.

Since closing in mid-March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the museum has implemented online educational content including activities, videos and resources. The online database is available here.