Letter to the Editor: Upstairs Downtown shows the hidden beauties of Canton

By Guest Columnist Joy Foy

The Canton Garden Club hosted the Upstairs Downtown tour of the second floor renovations on the historic square. Kathy Hammack has served as President of the Garden Club since the beginning of the year, and led the group in inviting people back into the Canton square for this biennial event for the first time since 2018. Mary Carol Patrick served as chairman for this event as she had been President of the Garden Club for the past Upstairs Downtown event.

Buildings on tour included the loft apartments of Mitch Tyner, Matt & Cat Kennedy, Jeb & Maria Stewart and Bridget Crosby. Also open that night was the new ice cream shop, The Daily Scoop owned by Dave and Suzanne Danaher, who also own the building next door to the ice cream shop, and they allowed visitors to tour the construction site of that building. Long time Canton cater, Susie Morgan opened Sterling Hall and Ric Grant played piano as guests toured the beautiful venue site.

As always, the Canton Tourism Office assisted and generously opened the Trolio Hotel for registration and upstairs tours as well as the Willbanks Building, a museum to the movies filmed in Canton. The music from the Jackson All Star Band, playing in the gazebo on the court square, was highly praised by visitors sitting on second floor balconies.

Hammack said, “The Garden Club is so thankful to all of our sponsors. With this being the first fundraiser for the Garden Club in two years because of the Covid pandemic, we could not have put this together without their substantial support.”

The Renasant Bank generously opened the third floor of the bank located on the southeast corner for a Grand Finale gourmet dessert event with live music by Ralph Miller. Lauren Ellison, Branch Manager of Canton Renasant, was a tremendous help with the planning of the Finale which was envisioned to be a final leisurely look of the downtown from the third floor after visits to all the beautiful historic apartments and a night of shopping around the square.

Beth MacNeill photographed the night for us and has posted those pictures on her Face Book page. MacNeill’s talent really showcases the beauty of Canton and the magic of the night well. See her collection of pictures from Upstairs Downtown on Facebook.

The Garden Club is thankful for all the support of sponsors, property owners, attendees and those expressing an interest in becoming a Garden Club member. Keep watch for the next event, and contact Kathy Hammack, or any Club member, for your application to join the Canton Garden Club.

The Club is very thankful to sponsors:

Gold – City of Canton & Canton Tourism

Silver – Robertson Construction Contractors, BankPlus, Barnett Phillips Lumber Company & Bob Montgomery

Bronze – Trustmark Bank, Renasant Bank, Canton Flea Market, Canton Lions Club, Moses Thompson, MS Discount Drug, MS Farm Bureau, & Sherrye LaCour Insurance

In-Kind – Hannah’s Liquor Store and Harry T’s