NATCHEZ &045;&045; At times, it seemed that no one who attended Cathedral’s Fall Festival fund-raiser Saturday went home empty-handed.

At one end of the festival grounds, which were set up behind the school, KFNV DJ Sam Jones presided over a cake walk that had no shortage of sugary snacks.

&uot;That’s my favorite,&uot; said teacher Amy Gamberi, accompanied by her 2-year-old daughter, Mia. As of 1 p.m., she had not won &045;&045; but there was still at least an hour of fun left.

At the other end of the grounds, children lined up to play games for prizes, ride ponies or slide down an inflatable slide into the ball bin.

Ronnie Nettles’ two children, 10-year-old Jordan and 8-year-old Brandon, couldn’t stand still for long &045;&045; but they did stop long enough to give their opinions on what the festival’s best attractions were.

For Jordan Nettles, it was the beanbag toss. When asked what she won, she simply turned around to reveal a clear backpack full of stuffed animals and other toys.

&uot;I liked the one where you throw the baseballs,&uot; Brandon Nettles said, brandishing a set of plastic toy knives he won in that game.

However, the really big prizes were inside, taking up much of the school’s multipurpose room &045;&045; baskets designed by each of the school’s elementary classes.

But don’t let the word &uot;baskets&uot; fool you. These auction prizes were big enough, in many cases, to warrant two or more people just to carry them away.

Each of the baskets was built around a different theme.

Those included LSU, filled with purple-and-gold items; Great Outdoors, overflowing with camouflage clothing, decoys and hunting gear; and Beach Basket, filled with Styrofoam &uot;noodles,&uot; a beach radio and so on, to name just a few.

To build up their energy for toting heavy baskets or chasing children around the circle of games, many chose to sample burgers, seafood and other lunchtime food available for sale &045;&045; and bake sale items for dessert.

In addition, Cathedral supporters lined up to take test drives in Dodge vehicles, with Dodge donating $5 to the school for each test drive.

Other Saturday attractions included a book sale and white elephant sale. Saturday night was Adult Night, with a supper of ribs or gumbo and a paddle auction.

&uot;It’s been a terrific turnout,&uot; with an estimated 1,500 attendees at 1 p.m., said festival organizer Amanda Jeansonne.

Much of that, she attributed to Saturday’s beautiful weather.

The festival continues from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. today with games, sale items and a turkey dinner. Bingo and a raffle will be held from 2 to 4 p.m. today.

Raffle prizes include the grand prize &045;&045; $2,500 cash &045;&045; as well as a Dell Dimension 2400 computer, a $1,000 savings bond, a 25-inch color television, a handcrafted gun cabinet and $300 in gasoline, among other items.

All proceeds from the festival will go to support the school.