WAVELAND, Miss. (WLOX) - 2025 marks 20 years since Hurricane Katrina ripped through the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
“It’s hard to believe it’s 20 years. Some days it feels like it’s yesterday, sometimes it feels like it’s a lifetime,” said Waveland’s Ground Zero Hurricane Museum Exhibit Organizer Bernie Cullen.
The Waveland Ground Zero Hurricane Museum is hosting a series of free events to honor the lives impacted, celebrate our resilience, and explore the power of art and storytelling.
“We really do want to celebrate the rebirth of our area and the resilience of our residents of Waveland and on the Coast, but also all the volunteers who came to help,” said Cullen.
Saturday, August 23
Author Lisa Hatfield will be signing copies of “To Ride a Storm Surge” at the Waveland Library on Coleman Avenue.
Hatfield’s novel tells the story of a teenager trying to survive two unstoppable forces: Hurricane Katrina and her demanding family.
The idea came to Hatfield after a trip to the Coast.
“She came from Colorado and was really enamored with the museum and has written a young adult novel about a teenage girl who was with her grandparents and her mother during the storm,” said Cullen.
The event will run from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m.
Tuesday, August 26
The museum is hosting a ‘Children of the Storm’ panel.
“Some of the kids who were teenagers at the time want to tell their story,” said Cullen.
The event is at the Waveland Ground Zero Hurricane Museum from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Thursday, August 28
There will also be a panel featuring authors who have written books about Hurricane Katrina.
The event will take place at Studio Waveland on Coleman Avenue at 6 p.m.
“They are all going to be there talking about their books and about their experiences with Katrina,” said Cullen.
Along with Hatfield, other authors include Ellis Anderson, who wrote “Under Surge, Under Siege.”
Father Sebastian, the author of “Blown Together,” will also take part, along with HC Porter, the author of “Backyards and Beyond.”
Friday, August 29
On the 20th anniversary of the storm, the museum is holding a Reflections and Remembrance Service.
The event is at the Waveland Ground Zero Hurricane Museum from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
“We also have a documentary that we did called ‘On Call, Katrina’s First Responders,’ and we’re going to premiere that documentary that day.”
All events are part of a partnership with the Hancock County Library System and Studio Waveland.
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