NATCHEZ &045; No one had an excuse for staying home Saturday.

In addition to Make a Difference Day activities and the last day of Angels on the Bluff, locals and visitors alike could join in Holy Family Catholic School’s Fall Carnival and Music on the Mounds.

Holy Family hosted about 300 people at its carnival, the school’s largest fund-raiser of the year.

There, families could enjoy horseback rides, games, face painting and the music of DJ Walter Squalls.

No one had an excuse to go home hungry, either &045; not with a cake walk and grilled sausage and with lunch plates containing, among other things, half a chicken, potato salad and peas.

After lunch, those carnivalgoers could try their luck in a raffle whose prizes included cash prizes, $80 worth of gas and a round trip airfare for two to anywhere in the United States.

But once 4-year-old Tydarrius Gooden saw the horseback rides, he wasn’t interested in anything else.

&uot;We have played every game here,&uot; his mother, Odessa Gooden, said as Tydarrius intently watched the horse and its rider being led around the yard behind the school.

Behind them in line, Dorothy Matthews and her grandson, 4-year-old Julian Matthews, had no ties to Holy Family but joined in the fun nonetheless.

&uot;I saw it for the first time advertised on television, and I thought I’d come out and support the school,&uot; Dorothy Matthews said.

Across town, the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians hosted the 12th annual Music on the Mounds event featuring a variety of musical acts.

&uot;We see the Grand Village as a community center as well as a historical museum,&uot; said Jim Barnett of the state Department of Archives and History.

As a result, the facility hosts a variety of events for the surrounding community.

Acts included gospel groups the Sounds of Joy and the Gospel Revelations, the Tattooed Serpent Jazz Band, Surefire, Calvin Greer and Seth Haney.

&uot;We thought it would be something good to bring the whole family out to,&uot; said the Rev. Craig Franklin, who brought wife Tisha and daughters, Hannah, 10, and Kristen, 5, to the event.