Many events in Pearl River County have been cancelled or postponed due to the pandemic.

The Crosby Arboretum’s spring plant sale was scheduled for March, but like all other Arboretum programs and events, the plant sale was indefinitely postponed due to the pandemic.

A new date has been selected for the sale; it will now be held on May 15 and May 16. Members will be allowed to enter at 9 a.m. and the public will be allowed from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Customers will be able to enter through the service entrance, although they will have to wait in their vehicles until there is space available in the sale. Only 10 people will be allowed in the sale area at a time. Masks are encouraged but not required.

Delaying the sale means that some of the plants that were blooming are no longer in bloom, but other plants are expected to sell better than they would have in March because they are now in bloom, said Director Patt Drackett.

The sale has some plants the Arboretum has never had before, like the flatwood plum, which produces small tart plums that can be used for jellies, said Drackett.

Drackett recommends attendees determine what kind of environment they will be bringing a plant home to, whether their property has clay or sand, is well drained or wet, or how much sunlight the area they want to plant has. Knowing those factors will make it easier to pick the best plant.

“The plants are beautiful,” said Drackett. “We’re really pleased that we’re able to have the sale.”

With summer heat ahead, people would be less interested in purchasing new plants for a garden if the sale had been delayed another month, she said. More information about the plants for sale will be available on the Arboretum’s Facebook page.

The Arboretum is still closed to the public, although staff are trying to put together digital programming for members.

The Keep Picayune Beautiful cleanup that was scheduled in April is still indefinitely postponed, but the cleanup will happen sometime this year, said Keep Picayune Beautiful Director Christy Goss.

Organizers are waiting until they have a clearer idea of when people will be allowed to gather before setting a date for the event. Updates on the event will be featured in future edition of the Item and on the Keep Picayune Beautiful and the Picayune City Hall Facebook pages as they become available.

Last year’s event had approximately 300 participants who signed in at Crosby Commons or Pearl River Central High School, said Goss.

Even without an organized event, people can always go out in the sunshine and clean up litter in their neighborhood or around their church, said Goss.

Picayune’s Spring Street Festival is cancelled, but the Fall Festival is scheduled for the first weekend in November, said Picayune Main Street Director Reba Beebe.

The Pearl River County libraries will reopen Monday, May 11 for book returns and curbside service. Book drops will still be closed, but books can be returned at each library’s entrance. For curbside service, patrons can call their library and request an item. The library staff will pull the item off the shelf, and when patrons arrive at the parking lot, they can call again for the library item to be brought out to the porch for pickup. Delivery will be contactless.

Services will be available Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to noon and 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.