Jackson Free Press

Mississippi Coding Academies recently received a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture to create a new program called TechShare, which will provide means for coders in remote areas to meet virtually with instructors from MCA's Jackson and Starkville locations.

Beginning in 2021, the TechShare program will allow MCA to add satellite locations and implement remote learning tools for students who don’t live near the academies' physical location and extend programming into underserved areas of Mississippi, a release from MCA says. MCA has identified municipal school district partners in communities near its Starkville location for a pilot program.

MCA staff moved classes entirely into the cloud in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing students to attend virtually. The academy also added remote productivity tools such as Discord, Slack, and Microsoft Teams to its curriculum, which it will also use for the TechShare program, the release says.

For more information, visit mscoding.org.

Highland Village Hosting Winter Solstice Celebration

Highland Village is partnering with Visit Jackson to hold a Winter Solstice celebration on Monday, Jan. 25, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Chefs from Highland Village's restaurants will prepare food for the event, which will also include wine and spirits, shopping specials throughout the evening and live entertainment.

The event is open to people age 21 and older only. Tickets are $50 each. Capacity will be limited, and all guests must wear a mask or face covering and follow social-distancing rules as per City of Jackson guidelines when entering and moving through public areas. Hand-sanitizing stations will also be available on-site.

To purchase tickets, visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/winter-solstice-tickets-131724955889. For more information, visit highlandvillagejxn.com.

La Brioche Going National With Spark Confectionary

Jackson-based patisserie La Brioche recently announced that it is expanding from local markets to national through the launching of a new brand called Spark Confectionary.

La Brioche plans to launch an e-commerce website for Spark Confectionary and will open a temporary pop-up shop at Renaissance at Colony Park in mid-December as part of its marketing strategy for the new brand, a release from La Brioche says.

The original La Brioche plans to maintain its current permanent retail location at Cultivation Food Hall in Jackson as well as an ongoing pop-up shop at Highland Village, which will remain open through February 2021.

For more information, visit labriochems.com.