Jackson Free Press

The Jackson Zoo will host its 24th annual Bluebell Ice Cream Safari fundraiser on Saturday, July 14, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For the event, local celebrities, including Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba and staff members from the Jackson Free Press, will serve ice cream throughout the zoo, with each offering one of 23 flavors that represent a species of animal at the zoo. At the end of the day, visitors will get to vote on their favorite flavor and name the "best scooper."

The Jackson Zoo (2918 W. Capitol St.) will also offer a dunk tank, carousel rides, a splash pad, games, a deejay and other attractions during the event. Admission is $14.25 for adults, $11.25 for children and $4 for zoo members. For more information, call 601-352-2580 or visit jacksonzoo.org.

This year's celebrities, animals and flavors include:

B-Day 99.1: Howling Red Wolfberry (strawberry; red wolf)

The Clinton Courier: Otterly Vanilla (homemade vanilla; otter)

Hallelujah 95.5: Red Panda Cheesecake (strawberry cheesecake; red panda)

The Hinds County Sheriff's Office: Red River Rocky Road Hogs (Rocky Road; river hogs)

Jackson Free Press: Moonbear Crunch (Moo-llennium Crunch; Asiatic black bear)

Jackson State University TV: Eko's Birthday Cake (birthday cake; Sumatran tiger)

Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba and the Jackson Zoological Society Board of Directors: Gator Mint Chocolate Chomp (mint chocolate chip; alligator)

Miss 103 and Z-106:. Buster's Thumb (chocolate peanut butter cookie dough; Gibbon monkey)

Mix 98.7: Chocolate Bunny (milk chocolate; rabbit)

SuperTalk Mississippi 97.3: Beaver's Den (Dutch chocolate; beaver)

Visit Jackson and Miss Jackson Hospitality Brionna Louise Wicks; Blue Monster Macaw (Cookie Two Step; macaw)

WAPT 16 News: KD's Cookie Dough (chocolate chip cookie dough; giraffe)

WDBD 40: Radical Red Ruffed Lemur (red, yellow and blue vanilla; lemur)

WJMI 99 Jams and Kixie 107: Dancing Ostrich Cookie Dough (Krazy Kookie Dough; ostrich)

WJTV 12 News: Chimpanzee Puddin' (banana pudding; chimp)

WLBT 3 News: Big Mike's Butter Crunch (butter crunch; rhinoceros)

WRBJ 97.7: Sweet 'N' Salty Cougar (sea salt caramel; cougar)

WYAB 103.9: Colobus Cake Batter (cake batter; Colobus monkey)

Y101 with Cookiessss and Cream (Cookies 'n Cream; snake)

Nandy's Candy Wins RCI Candy Clinic Award

Retail Confectioners International, a trade association for the chocolate and confection industry, presented Nandy's Candy owner Emmie King with the 2018 Candy Clinic Best First Time Entrant award at the organization's annual convention in Cleveland, Ohio, in late June.

The RCI Candy Clinic awards serve as an opportunity for storeowners to present ideas on marketing, packaging and other strategies that they have used in-store throughout the year, King told the Jackson Free Press. She received her award for an August 2017 campaign to support victims of Hurricane Harvey.

"In the aftermath of Harvey, I had Nandy's start making chocolates in the shape of Texas and other states that were affected, and started promoting and selling them in-store and online to generate donations for Harvey relief," King said. "The idea was to use something you use in your store every day in a different way to help in a time of need. Molds like the one we used would normally be for weddings or party favors, but instead, we used them to help the Red Cross and other organizations."

Nandy's Candy (1220 E. Northside Drive, Suite 380) is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. This week, the store will be closed on Wednesday, July 4, and open from noon to 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday, reverting to regular hours on Saturday. For more information, call 601-362-9553 or visit nandys-candy.myshopify.com.

The Country Squire Moving Into New Space

The Country Squire Tobacconist, a store in the Quarter Shopping Center (1855 Lakeland Drive) that specializes in pipes, cigars and small-batch tobacco, will soon move into a larger location within the plaza.

The new space is roughly twice the size of the former location at 2,000 square feet, owner Jon David Cole told the Jackson Free Press. It will include an expanded lounge and outdoor seating area, as well as a humidor four times larger than the shop's current one.

"The Quarter Shopping Center's owners, State Street Group, are redeveloping the area, and we're excited to be part of that," Cole said. "We're the oldest tobacco shop in the state, and the market has changed a lot since we first opened. This move gives us an opportunity to expand on popular items like our cigar selection while staying true to our core as an old-fashioned tobacco shop that offers hard-to-find premium products, pipes and more."

Jim and Gwen Reeves first opened The Country Squire in August 1970. Cole took over as owner in 2016 after being the store manager for six years.

"This is a local place with a long history as a hangout for authors like Willie Morris, state politicians, athletes, actors and others to stop in," James Foster, marketing director for The Country Squire, said. "It's become something of a historic institution at this point."

A release from the store also states that it will offer more events, including live music, cigar-rolling and movie nights, after relocating. Cole said that the move will either take place this weekend or the following week.

"While nothing is solid yet, we are planning to hold a grand reopening with live music, pipe tastings and more for the new shop in conjunction with the 48th anniversary of our opening in August," he said.

For more information, call 601-362-2233 or visit thecountrysquireonline.com.