Ms Black Gulf Coast 2024 is much more than a title to Nastassia Ayodele. “Representation is so important when it comes to being in a pageant,” says Ayodele, who won the crown in March. “(The title) is a badge of honor because it was started to include women like me, who share the same cultural […]
Like many middle-school romances, Bailey Mae Anderson and William Lee Garriga’s relationship started with a simple text message: “Will you be my girlfriend?” Given their youth — Will was 13, and Baily was 12 when they met at East Central Middle School in Hurley, Mississippi — not many would expect the pairing to last beyond […]
She’s considered one of the most important, influential artists of the 20th century, and each year, fans fill the streets of Bay St. Louis to pay her homage. The legacy of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo lives on with Frida Fest, which returns to the Bay for the ninth year on July 13. “Frida Fest was […]
Photography by Brandi Stage Portraiture | Makeup by Bria Fowler, Elle Louise, LLC & Brooke Soto, Electric Lady Hair Studio | Location: Hancock Whitney Plaza Driven to make a difference Hancock Whitney’s Laura Sullivan Ethridge shows resilience is her superpower “The most important part of success is filling your life with the love and laughter […]
When Hurricane Katrina devastated the Coast in 2005, Capt. Ashley Kosturock’s family was fortunate and sustained only minimal damage to their home. But Kosturock’s dad, a Biloxi Police officer at the time, documented the disaster with a Kodak single-use camera, snapping scenes of the aftermath along Highway 90. Today, Kosturock carries those photos in her […]
Photography by Brandi Stage Portraiture | Hair and makeup by Alicia Wortel, Electric Lady Hair Studio | Location: Mississippi Aquarium Like many pregnant women, Ieshia McArthur worried whether she was ready for a child and would make a good mom. But once her “rainbow baby,” Jaycee, arrived last November, self-doubt soon gave way to overwhelming gratitude. […]
It’s a prediction no one the Coast wants to hear: Hurricane season 2024 is shaping up to be a doozy. In fact, this season, which starts June 1 and ends Nov. 30, could be one of the most active on record, according to an outlook from Colorado State University. The university’s tropical meteorology project team […]
With her children grown up and out on their own, Lyndritka Armstrong started to wonder, “What now?” The answer came one day as she was meditating, hoping to be guided toward her next steps. “I saw some leaves blowing in the wind, and I realized that is how I want to be free and at […]
Photography by Brandi Stage Portraiture | Hair and makeup by Brooke Soto, Electric Lady Hair Studio For a young girl fascinated by pirates, there are few better places to spend your childhood summers than the beaches and harbors of the Bahamas. When Gulfport native Brittany Wilem Kahler wasn’t snorkeling, fishing or swimming, she was reading everything […]
Often without her realizing it, Judy Alliston is being watched with a mixture of admiration and awe. As a source of unconditional love and support for her family, the woman affectionately called “Mimi” by her grandchildren is reaping what she has sown. The mother of four, grandmother of 13 and great-grandmother of two serves as […]
