‘Laurel Leap’ event continues to bring the community together

LAUREL, Miss. (WDAM) - The first weekend in March means it’s time for March Madness of a sorts in the City Beautiful.

The city held its annual “Laurel Leap event downtown bringing the community together through the game of basketball.

Jermarcus Ross, a participant in the event and a part of the team, Sore Losers, said “it feels like a barbecue in your backyard.

“Laurel is just like a family. Once you make it to Laurel, you’re going to hug somebody. You’re going to high-five plenty of people. It’s just like a backyard barbecue with a little bit of basketball now.”

The event aims to bring everybody downtown, and the event sponsor, First State Bank, said it loves to do it.

“We’re having great weather and we love bringing the community together,” First State Bank representative Anna Claire Burge said. “It’s just a wonderful event to have everyone here.”

Ross said it’s also a way to show the youth that Laurel is a place to call home.

“We’ve got a lot of elderly people out here, people who enjoy being downtown, people who are relatives here, people who live here,” Ross said. “We’ve got natives coming here(Sunday). This is a special event for us in Laurel.”

The event concluded its fourth year with the basketball tournament.

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