Jackson Free Press

Clint Sistrunk and his wife, Paulina Krakowska, were in Poland visiting Krakowska's family in summer 2015 when the couple first discovered "escape rooms," which are live-action games that put a group of people in a closed room and have them decipher clues to escape within a one-hour time limit.

"After playing games like this in Warsaw that summer, my wife and I came home and found out that they have places to play this kind of game in Memphis and in Baton Rouge," Sistrunk said. "We figured maybe it was time someone brought this concept to Jackson."

The couple leased a 900-square-foot space from Edward Saint Pe' in the same building that houses The Loft at 916 Foley St., and used it to open JXN Escape Room. The couple held a trial run of their first event, The Investigation, with two groups of friends on Feb. 7, and after determining that they were properly set up, officially opened JXN Escape Room on Feb. 13.

JXN Escape Room features a lobby in which players are briefed on the rules and goals of the game before getting started, an office from which staff can monitor the game and provide help or hints if needed and two spaces for the games themselves. Currently, only the space being used for The Investigation is open, but Sistrunk is preparing the other room for use in JXN Escape Room's next game, The Spaceship.

In The Investigation's scenario, players discover that a friend has been found dead in her dorm room. The police never caught the killer, so the team must take matters into their own hands. The goal is to find out who the killer is and escape before he strikes again. The Spaceship will cast the team as a crew of astronauts who have awoken from hypersleep only to find that a meteor shower has damaged their ship. With the power out, the ship will be pulled into the event horizon of a black hole in 60 minutes, challenging the crew to restart the engine and set the course back to Earth.

Anyone can participate in a scenario at JXN Escape Room, but an adult over the age of 21 must accompany players younger than 18. All people entering a room must have purchased a ticket, regardless of intent to play the game. Each room is designed to accommodate teams of two to eight people. The Investigation can host up to six people, while The Spaceship will host up to eight.

The doors of the room are locked during game play, but players may choose to leave the room at any time. However, if someone leaves the scenario during the game, they will not be allowed to return. Other players can continue playing out the remaining time.

All needed clues and information can be found within the rooms. No phones, laptops or any other form of electronics can be used to solve the scenarios. No tools, guns, knives or other instruments are allowed during game play. Purses, coats or any other items can be placed in provided lockers. Tickets are $20 per person, and JXN Escape Room only accepts prepaid reservations through their online booking service using a debit or credit card.


For more information on rules and scenarios, contact JXN Escape Room at [email protected]. Visit jxnescaperoom.com or the JXN Escape Room Facebook page to book a scenario.

Paint Nite Comes to Jackson

Paint Nite, a national event that art lovers Dan Hermann and Sean McGrail started in 2012, will soon come to Jackson. Meredith Gonzalez, a Charlottesville, Va., native and full-time mother of two, is the operator of the Jackson Paint Nite branch, which launches Friday, March 18, and plans to use the event to foster creativity and draw attention to small businesses and restaurants in Jackson.

"When my husband, Ezekiel, and I moved to Jackson from Los Angeles last summer, I didn't know what the city was going to be like," Gonzalez said. "I was glad to find a thriving arts community here, and I wanted to play a part in its growth."

Paint Nite events take place in local small businesses and restaurants, and allow clients to receive two hours of art instruction from a local professional artist while enjoying food and drink, which will be sold separately. Many of the host restaurants are preparing food and drink specials for Paint Nite. Paint Night features group events, corporate team building and fundraising events, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and other private gatherings.

Gonzalez divides her artistic talent between producing pieces such as custom portraits to sell and doing illustrations for her daughters, 3-year-old Emma and 2-year-old Audrey. She displays all her artwork on Etsy.

"When it comes to community, I think that no one can exist in a vacuum," Gonzalez said. "You have to be a part of something bigger for a community to be great, and I want to make Jackson a great place to raise my kids. Paint Nite will enrich the community in Jackson and help grow and revitalize Jackson's local businesses at the same time."

Find Gonzalez' art online at etsy.com/shop/mgfgallery. For more information, find Paint Nite Jackson on Facebook, Instagram @paintnitejackson and on Twitter @paintnitejxn.

Mississippi Business Engagement Network

Mississippi Public Universities launched the Mississippi Business Engagement Network, an initiative to connect business leaders and economic developers with students, experts and researchers, in late January, an MBEN press release says. The project's goal is to allow students to gain real-world knowledge of the workplace and provide employers with an opportunity to work directly with them.

Mississippi Public Universities have partnered with the Mississippi Research Consortium, the Mississippi Economic Council, the Mississippi Development Authority and the Mississippi Economic Development Council to develop the program.

Its website, msben.com, offers information on universities' research capabilities and the more than 200 institutes and centers that the universities house. The MBEN website allows visitors to search by industry sectors, including advanced manufacturing, aerospace, agribusiness, automotive, energy, health care, shipbuilding, tourism and film, distribution and warehousing, and data centers and information technology.

MBEN's website also serves as a portal to access the research parks at each of the four research universities, including Insight Park at the University of Mississippi, the Mississippi e-Center at Jackson State University, the Accelerator at the University of Southern Mississippi and the Thad Cochran Research, Technology & Economic Development Park at Mississippi State University.

Information and an online application for the Strengthening Mississippi Academic Research Through Business Act is also posted on the website. The SMART act allows Mississippi businesses that enter into a new research agreement with a Mississippi public university or research corporation to receive a maximum rebate equal to $1 million help facilitate its next research project.

Visitors can also find information on the student internship program from Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning and the Mississippi Economic Council, which assists businesses that are interested in starting a student internship program or need aid in recruitment within the university system. A database of faculty experts at the universities is also in development.

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