Local bands are hosting Jamming with the Kids, a Christmas toy fundraising event, on Thursday, Dec. 5, at The Anthony, 127 Country Club Drive.

“This is going to be our 22nd annual Jamming with the Kids,” said event director Kemper Ehrhardt. ” it starts at 6 p.m. and ends whenever we get finished. That’s usually when we run out of items to raffle or auction off.”

In addition to an auction of items donated by the community and a raffle, the event features music for folks to enjoy and fellowship.

Beyond Walls Ministries, a program affiliated with the Warren County Chaplin’s Office, will be distributing the proceeds from the event to children with a parent incarcerated during the holidays.

“We’ll have local bands performing and a cash bar,” Ehrhardt said. “Most people enjoy coming out each year because this might be their only chance to see a friend. We usually have people come from all over to donate and participate.”

Performers include John Howard Dennis, Lee H. Abraham & Friends, Ralph Miller, Patchwork, My Brother’s Kemper Band and Simpatico, and expect to see a few special guests.

The idea for Jamming for the Kids came after Ehrhardt noticed that some children in the community weren’t given the same opportunities as others, and the event has grown each year.

“We started this because we saw that some parents might have fallen on hard times and weren’t able to provide gifts for their children,” Ehrhardt said. “We didn’t want some kids to think that Santa wasn’t thinking about them, and [we] decided to do something. We started off our first year with maybe a couple hundred dollars and some toys, and now we have groups that donate huge checks each year.”

Admission is $5 or an unopened children’s toy, and raffle tickets are $1 each. Must be 21 or older to attend.

For more information, call Kemper Ehrhardt at 601-629-2003 or visit the Facebook event page.

Come enjoy one of the best-loved American films of all time at the Strand Theatre (717 Clay St.) on Friday, Nov. 29 at 7:30 p.m.

“Casablanca,” released in 1942 and set during World War II, features some of the most iconic actors of the era. Humphrey Bogart is Rick, an American expat and owner of Rick’s Café Americain. Ingrid Bergman is his former lover, Ilsa Lund, desperate to get her husband, a fugitive resistance leader, to America.

You’ll also recognize Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre among the stellar cast.

You’ll recognize the lines (“Here’s looking at you, kid.”) and the music (“As Time Goes By”) in this unabashedly romantic adventure.

See the original trailer.

The film won Academy Awards for best picture, best director and best adapted screenplay.

Tickets are $6 in advance at Highway 61 Coffeehouse (1101 Washington St.) and $8 at the door.

On Nov. 28 starting at 8 p.m., Elton Pope is hosting his annual Thanksgiving Day Comedy Show at the Vicksburg City Auditorium, 901 Monroe St. 

Eight years ago the comedian decided to bring the event to Vicksburg in an effort to increase the variety of events in the town.

“I’m from Vicksburg and this is my profession,” Pope said. “I noticed there was a lack of comedy events in town, and I wanted to bring a new form of entertainment to the city.”

At this years event, Pope is bringing in a group of Mississippi natives: Marvin Hunter, Kerwin Claiborne, Jesse McDonald, Nardo Blackmon and an Alcorn alumnus as the headliner. 

“The headlining comedian is J.J. Williams,” he said. “He attended Alcorn and is currently on tour with Cedric the Entertainer. He’s also been in the movie ‘Johnson Family Vacation’.” 

The audience can expect to be blown away by some good, clean comedy.

“People can expect a very clean and funny show,” he said. “… This is going to be an event that is great for the community and everyone is just going to have a good time.”

Tickets are $20 and can be purchased via bandsintown.com or at Michel’s Record Shop, 1417 Washington St.

For more information, call Elton Pope at 601-709-7894.

“They say that laughter is the best medicine, so I hope this serves as a stress-free event and that people just laugh,” Pope said.