It’s official — the Coast’s own Austin Sumrall is the Southern comfort cuisine champion. Sumrall, the acclaimed owner and chef of Biloxi’s White Pillars Restaurant and Lounge, emerged victorious on a recent episode of “Alex Vs. America,” a Food Network show that pits three brave and talented chefs per episode against Alex Guarnaschelli, a frequent […]
Wearing a $50 evening gown and a megawatt smile, Melanie Robinson owned the stage at the Ms. Voluptuous International contest. Her top-three finish proved something to the pageant veteran: winning was all about confidence, not expense. Now 52 and the reigning Ms. Voluptuous Mississippi, Robinson first competed at a local level in 1989. She didn’t […]
Makeover team: Photography by Brandi Stage Portraiture | Hair & Makeup by HD Hair and Makeup Stacey Riley has never sought attention — quite the opposite. A lifelong struggle with social anxiety disorder meant Riley, the chief executive officer of the Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence, felt uncomfortable speaking in public, being called on in […]
Photography by Brandi Stage Portraiture | Hair and Makeup by HD Hair and Makeup For her entire adult life, Kathy Pizzetta Springer was a “hot-rollers-and-hairspray” kind of girl. Photos taken as recently as two years ago show the vivacious blonde, who is CEO of the United Way of South Mississippi, wearing a gravity-defying bouffant. “I […]
To Meghan Butterfield, it seems like ages ago that she decided to leave her banking and finance career and put her MBA to work as a business owner. “Being that I’d never truly worked in retail before, other than the cosmetic counter at Clinique, all odds were against me,” Butterfield recalls. “So with a stash […]
The founders of the Junction Grief Center don’t just sympathize with people who have experienced a loss — they understand them deeply. The center, located in Ocean Springs, opened after Katie Latch and Randi Page lost their husbands in 2021. Amber Carroll, the third member of the founding trio, learned that her son suffered from […]
It’s a tradition that’s endured for 94 years, and few events are so synonymous with the Mississippi Gulf Coast.Once again, during the last week of May, Biloxi will celebrate its heritage with the Blessing of the Fleet — a weekend filled with festivities to mark the start of the shrimping and fishing season. “The event […]
Soon after setting foot in Ocean Springs, Chelsea Prince and her family met the town’s most famous resident. They had just arrived on the Coast in the summer of 2020, after Prince’s husband had been assigned to Keelser Air Force Base. As the family enjoyed their treats from the Tatonut Donut Shop, a loud “cock-a-doodle-doo” […]
Photography by Brandi Stage Portraiture Hair and makeup: Brittney Johnson Makeup Venue: The Bootleg Howl, Owner Chari C. Davis When Dorothy Roberts welcomed her eldest daughter into the world, she marveled at the preciousness of life and instantly realized how much her own parents loved her. She also wondered if she’d ever sleep deeply again. […]
Whether you’ve hurriedly devoured a Pop Brothers treat at the Gulfport-Biloxi airport or savored one on a balmy summer night, you know it’s no ordinary popsicle. For starters, the pops come in more than 50 flavors, ranging from strawberry to guanabana (a South American fruit). Plus, these gourmet goodies are poured and set by hand […]
