What Southern city has hosted the King and Queen of Spain for a special art exhibition? Has served as the hometown of the USA International Ballet Competition for more than 25 years? And now, in its newest museum, celebrates the contributions Muslims have made not only to the city, state and region, but to the nation and the world.


The answer to all of the above is Jacskson, MS. A town whose Civil War mayor, Charles Henry Manship, was a decorative painter. And a town that nurtured a major American writer, Eudora Welty. Manship's historic Victorian home is open to the public, and the Eudora Welty House will open in 2006. Jackson treasures its history, its arts and its culture.


History and tradition notwithstanding, Jackson is a city looking forward to its future. Capital of the State of Mississippi, Jackson is a thriving town of more than 200,000 citizens (440,000 for the metro area) who put their votes and their revenue into projects that will enhance the city's economy. They recently approved a 246,000-square-foot $61 million convention center, scheduled to open in 2008. Its immediate neighbor is the $17.5 million TelCom Center, a technologically advanced such center that puts Jackson on the map in this department.


Sitting at the crossroads of I-20 and I-55, Jackson is less than a day's drive from Atlanta, Dallas, New Orleans and St. Louis, among other major cities in the region. The city also serves as one of two centers of government for Hinds County; the other is nearby Raymond.


Focused on recapturing the allure of its downtown, Jackson has just restored its historic Union Station, which sill serves as an Amtrak stop. The Farish Street Historical Diitrict, a 125-acre 19th-century African-American neighborhood, is home to nearly 700 listed structures in a mixed environment of residential and commercial architecture. New period lighting and sidewalks are part of a major effort to restore, preserve and protect this neighborhood that could easily have fallen victim to "urban renewal." But not in Jackson, which cherishes its trasures.


Named for Andrew Jackson, who fought the British in the War of 1812 at nearby New Orleans, Jackson was originally called LeFleur's Bluff, named for Louis LeFleur (1762-1833). A Mobile-born entrepreneur of French descent, LeFleur married, in succession, two part-Choctaw sisters and finally a full-blood Choctaw woman. His children reflect the founding basis of Mississippi demographics. Africans, Alsace Jews, Irish, Italians, Hispanics and Asians have enriched this demographic gumbo, creating a population that is at once diverse and energetically creative.


In 1821 the Mississippi State Legislature fixed the capital at LaFleur's Bluff, on the banks of the Pearl River, choosing it for its geographical position and its proximity to the Natchez Trace, a now-scenic historic route that early in the 19th century was a major commercial conduit.


When the city was virtually razed by Union forces during the U.S. Civil War, a few buildings survived. Used as a hospital by both Confederate and Federal forces, the 1847 City Hall building hosts a statue of Jackson's namesake, General Andrew Jackson, later president of the United States. Built in 1939, the Greek Revival Old Capital building now serves as the state historical museum. The Oaks House Museum, built around 1850, may be the oldest extant residence in Jackson, and may have served Federal General William T. Sherman as his Jackson headquarters.


Jackson nurtures a musically and artistically rich environment that plays out in ways that appeal not only to visitors but make daily life richer for residents. Music from classical to blues and jazz, and fine hand-made craft show how the arts stay paramount in Jackson.


But residents have to make a living, and Jackson offers a vibrant economy, with some 400 manufacturing companies producing everything from automotive and aircraft parts, to electrical house ware equipment, and motors. Food processing and the manufacture of clothing and furniture are significant sectors. Law and banking are linchpin professional enterprises.


When the International Ballet Competition was established in Jackson, MS, more than a quarter century ago, competitors may have seemed puzzled at the choice. But today, they know right where Jackson is and why it's a great choice for this important event. Just as it's a great choice as a place to live, Jackson surprises and delights with its quality of life.