The National Folk Festival kicked off in downtown Jackson on Saturday. The festival is the longest running arts event comprised of a free, outdoor, three-day celebration of music, art and dance. 

Eddie Cotton Jr. ignites the crowd at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.

The National Council for the Traditional Arts chose Jackson out of 42 cities from across the country.

Local bluesman Eddie Cotton Jr. wows 1 1/2-year-old Zemen and his mother Harya Tarekegn, at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
Yamini Kalluri performs a Kuchipudi dance, a classical Indian dance style, at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
The BeauSoleil Trio performs at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
Michael Doucet with the BeauSoleil Trio entertains the crowd at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
David Doucet with the BeauSoleil Trio perfoms at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
Chad Huval with the BeauSoleil Trio perfoms at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
Jake Davis of Herriday, La., enjoying the Cajun sounds of the BeauSoleil Trio, during the kickoff of the National Folk Festival held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
Eddie Cotton Jr. and his Mississippi Cotton Club Band perform at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
Yamini Kalluri and the Kritya Music Ensemble perform at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
Having a good time dancing to the music of the BeauSoleil Trio at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.
Local bluesman Eddie Cotton Jr. and his Mississippi Cotton Club Band perform at the National Folk Festival Kickoff held in downtown Jackson, Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024.

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Vickie King has experience as a professional photographer spanning 35 years- from childhood purchasing her first camera by selling flower seeds to neighbors, as a stringer for Associated Press in Des Moines, Iowa, a freelancer shooting an album cover to your loved one’s wedding, and your kids and pets at a J.C. Penney portrait studio. She joins the Mississippi Today team as a photojournalist.

A native Mississippian and resident of Jackson, Vickie was born in Laurel.
You know her work from years as a staff photographer for the Clarion-Ledger. Her award-winning photography has appeared in such publications as the New York Times, Editor & Publisher Magazine, People Magazine, in national news broadcasts, and books depicting the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to the glory of Ole Miss football.

Most recently, she is the former photographer, Special Projects Officer IV, Staff Officer I, videographer, and online content producer for the Mississippi Department of Corrections. She is also a Pulitzer Prize nominee for Spot News.

Vickie is a graduate of Simpson College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Relations.