Contact: Sasha Steinberg

STARKVILLE, Miss.—The Roaring ’20s, one of the most influential eras in fashion, will come to life March 22 during Mississippi State University Libraries’ fifth annual Gatsby Gala.

Part of the 12th annual Charles H. Templeton Ragtime and Jazz Festival, the 6 p.m. fashion show at Mitchell Memorial Library will feature 1920s-inspired apparel designed and created by MSU fashion design and merchandising students and modeled by MSU Fashion Board members. The students have worked on their designs under the guidance of Assistant Professor Charles Freeman and Professor Catherine Black of MSU’s School of Human Sciences.

Admission is free to the event, which will take place in the library’s second-floor lobby. Attendees are encouraged to dress in their best 1920’s-inspired outfit.

Parking is available at the Old Main Academic Center parking garage on Barr Avenue. Patrons also can use MSU’s S.M.A.R.T. shuttle system for transportation to and from the festival.

Internationally renowned pianist and fifth-year artistic director Jeff Barnhart of Mystic, Connecticut, will provide music for the gala, which will conclude with a reception.

MSU Libraries Associate Dean Stephen Cunetto said the popular Gatsby Gala started as an outreach opportunity designed to incorporate the talents of MSU students. The event was the brainchild of former MSU Libraries employee Leilani Salter, who currently serves as assistant director of special events for MSU President Mark E. Keenum’s office.

“The 2013 festival coincided with the release of the 2013 remake of the classic film ‘The Great Gatsby,’” Cunetto said. “The glitz and glam of the popular movie—set during the Roaring 1920’s at the height of the Jazz Age—seemed like a perfect tie with the Templeton Ragtime and Jazz Festival.”

For more information and to purchase tickets for the festival, visit http://library.msstate.edu/festival.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.