The Fondren Renaissance Foundation recently announced that Duling Avenue in downtown Jackson will close from June 12-13 and and serve as an open-air dining hall as part of FRF's "Dining on Duling" event.

All attendees at the event must wear face masks unless currently seated. FRF will release details during the last week of May on the list of participating restaurants and protocols for diners.

In preparation for Dining on Duling, Jackson muralist Scott Allen is painting a mural on the asphalt on Duling Avenue as part of the City of Jackson's Fertile Grounds Project. The street mural will double as a social distancing guide for the event, a release from FRF says.

Parts of Duling Avenue will be closed until the event as Allen prepares the art installation. For more information, visit fondren.org or the FRF Facebook page.

Exhibit and Membership Extensions at Mississippi Museum of Art

In light of ongoing closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mississippi Museum of Art recently announced that it has partnered with the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Va., to extend its current exhibit, "Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, and Their Times," until Jan. 10, 2021, to ensure that Jacksonians will be able to see the exhibit after the museum is able to reopen.

Additionally, the museum has extended all current memberships by the length of time that it has been closed and will automatically process membership extensions upon reopening.

Memberships purchased during the museum’s temporary closure will begin immediately upon reopening. For more information visit msmuseumart.org or email Leslie Kennedy, director of member services, at [email protected].

Elvie’s Dining Room Reopens

Elvie’s (809 Manship St.), which Jackson chef Hunter Evans opened in February 2020, reopened its dining room on Friday, May 22, after having to close it to the public within a month of opening due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In compliance with local, state and CDC guidelines for safety and sanitation in reopening restaurant dine-in spaces, Elvie's will have disposable menus, will seat customers at only 50 percent capacity and maintain social distancing in its indoor and outdoor dining spaces and will continue offering curbside, no-contact takeout.

During its closure, Elvie's has been partnering with Sow Reap Feed, a local organization that focuses on urban farming to fight hunger and food insecurity, to collect food donations to provide bagged lunches Jackson children without access to free school meals, and has been supporting its employees through gift card and DIY mixer sales.

Additionally, with the restaurant's reopening, Elvie's created a new tasting menu.

For more information, call 601-863-8828 or visit elviesrestaurant.com.