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<.:-_r;_rlr ~owsbe1ng ~ilk~d.Iro~icasit seems there is a parallel between the Neshoba County Fair and the palace ofVersailles," Vickers said. Because of their teaching back– ground, the Vickerses see many peo– ple each year at the fair that they have worked with or taught in the past. Vickers sees this as an opportunity to explain the significance of the Versailles banner. He believes the exhibits are an important part of Mississippi's cultural growth. "We're proud ofwhat Mississippi is doing with these exhibits to promote mternational friendship, cultural t:xchange, and interest in the arts. Therefore, we decided it would be appropriate to hang the official flag of the Splendors of Versailles exhibit from the porch of our Fair cabin," Vickers said. "We are both history buffs and therefore we are interested in the exhibit and we have both toured France and visited Versailles on sev– eral occasions," Vickers said. Vickers said that although he has ·seen Versailles flrst hand, the Neshoba County Fair offers as much entertainment as foreign lands. Vickers came to Mississippi in 1955 and began teaching at East Central C •ty College in Decatur. Soon ::arrival he was introduced to the fair by his students. . "I have been a fair enthusiast ever since " Vickers said. . . The Splendors of Ve~sailles exhiblt opened in April and will run through August 31.

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which is a large sunburst surrounding a face against a black background - the official banner for the French exhibit," Vickers said. The face surrounded by the sun– burst which Vickers described is the symbol for France's Sun King, Louis the XIV. This year's exhibit of objects from the Palace ofVersailles, which for several hundred years was the royal residence of the French kings, displays such items as royal portraits, huge tapestries, silver serving piece~. clocks, and furniture. A lar-ger-than– life statue of Louis XIV mounted on a horse is oh display and will remain in Jackson after the exhibit closes: Vickers said a comparison might be made between the Neshoba County Fair and one aspect of Versailles, which is located 14 miles outside Paris.

By HANK HARMS Fair Times reporter

If you happened to pass by cabin 33-!D during last year's Fair you saw the banner from the Palaces of St. Petersburg exhibit that hung from the porch. The banner was brought to the ~1ckers/Farrish/Smith cabin by Ovid and Carol Vickers who volunteered for the Palaces of St. Petersburg exhibit which was open in Jackson from March through August of 1996. The golden image on the deep wine colored banner was a griffin, the symbol of the Russian royal family. "We are both retired and do a lot of volunteer work because we've always been busy. Just because one retires is no reason to go home and shut the door and cease to be involved in civic, political and cultural affairs," Ovid Vickers said. The exhibit contained furniture,· statuary, silverware and other objects that had belonged to Czar Nicholas the II. When it was announced that this year the Mississippi Arts Pavilion in Jackson would host The Splendors of Versailles exhibit, the Vickerses volun– teered once again. "This year we will display a banner

"The Neshoba County Fair began as a place for farmers to gather and exhibit their produce and livestock. Marie Antoinette was interested, although she was a Queen who enjoyed all the luxuries of royalty, in rural or country things. So she had a country village constructed on the grounds of Versailles where she could go feed the chickens and watch the See Vickers, page 15 almost as much as Fai r

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