Managing Editor Amber Helsel is a Gemini, feminist, writer, artist and otaku. She loves travelling, petting cats, hoarding craft supplies and more. Email story ideas to amber@jacksonfreepress.com. She attended Hinds Community College and the University of Mississippi.
Recent Commentary
City & County
EDITOR'S NOTE: Pride, from Detroit to Jackson
Jackson needs people who are willing to do the hard work—to attend city council meetings to see what's happening, to push back when the city's government isn't sticking to their ...
Editor's Note
EDITOR'S NOTE: Move ... Because Your Life Depends On It
Running is an intense exercise, so while it may be amazing for some people, it may be tough for others. But find a thing you can do, and do it.
Editor's Note
EDITOR'S NOTE: Midterm Madness Comes to Mississippi
Editor-in-Chief Donna Ladd and Publisher Todd Stauffer started Best of Jackson almost 16 years ago to uplift the city because back then it was in a bad place, much worse ...
City & County
EDITOR'S NOTE: Jackson, Get Your Community Together
Sure, if you come from a bigger city, there may be less to do here in Jackson, but you have many options, even if it's just going to the Mississippi ...
Art
EDITOR'S NOTE: Simple Ideas for Effecting Change
A study from the Journal of the American Art Therapy Association shows that 45 minutes of visual art-making can lower stress levels in adults, and other studies show that for ...
Editor's Note
EDITOR'S NOTE: All Those Crazy Jackson Ideas
When Mississippi Arts Commission Executive Director Malcolm White first moved to Jackson in 1979, he said it was a fairly straight-laced city where people went to work, church, school and ...
Civil Rights
EDITOR'S NOTE: Creatives All In It Together
Artists need community. We need other people who will meet with us face to face, and give us helpful advice and tips, offer constructive criticism or answer our questions.
City & County
EDITOR'S NOTE: Fresh Eyes on the Capital City
When dancers in the USA International Ballet Competition refer to the competition in Jackson (which, by the way, is the only one of its kind in the U.S.), they simply ...
Editor's Note
EDITOR'S NOTE: #TIMESUP for Sexual Harassment
The women who wore black at the Golden Globes and called men out are right. It's time we stopped being OK with gender inequality and sexual harassment, and those micro-aggressions ...
Editor's Note
EDITOR'S NOTE: Moving On from the Dumpster Fire of 2017
Between social media, podcasts, the radio and more, it's really hard to miss the news right now. Really, really hard.
Recent Stories
Wellness
A Salty Kind of Relaxation
Soul Synergy Center's salt cave is not a cave in the normal sense. It's a small room at the center of the building meant to simulate a real salt cave.
Food
Foodie Facts
Food can be a great equalizer, but it can also be a great divider. Recently, porch.com surveyed 1,000 people on their food preferences. Here are some of the findings.
Art
Of History and Craftsmanship
Over the 40 years since its founding, the Craftsmen's Guild of Mississippi has grown from just a few craftspeople to 359 members, 80 percent of which reside in Mississippi, and ...
Art
Marble Masterpieces
Whether you like coffee, painting or just need something to put stuff in, mugs can come in pretty handy. Sadly, sometimes they can look a little boring. Why not make ...
Food
Father’s Day: Things to Do
You'll have no shortage of great things to do in the Jackson metro for Father's Day this year. Here's just a few that the JFP has picked out.
Jacksonian
Blake Feldman
When Blake Feldman was in college, he planned on going to medical school. The Newton, Miss., native received a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Southern Mississippi in ...
Cover
Tara Blumenthal: All About Yoga
Tara Blumenthal, who owns Tara Yoga, has been a yoga teacher for 15 years, so she has seen how it has grown and changed.
Food
Ice Cream Magic at 30 Below
Ryan Parmentier says he grew up loving to cook and always wanted to own a food truck. His initial idea was to open a barbecue truck, but after trying rolled ...
Jacksonian
Marcus A. Williams
After Marcus A. Williams witnessed injustices in his community, such as friends and people he grew up with getting arrested and not having good, fair and adequate representation, he decided ...
Person of the Day
Adrianna Latrice
When Adrianna Latrice was 15, God spoke to her, she says, and told her that one day she would write a book that would include some of her personal experiences. ...
