NATCHEZ &045;&045; Pony rides, face painting and a yard full of games to pick from led to smiling faces and tired children at Cathedral School’s annual fall festival.

The school’s largest fund-raiser of the year brought sunny skies and a good turnout, ticket seller Karen Callaway said.

&uot;We’ve hardly been able to sell tickets they’ve been coming so fast,&uot; she said from the ticket booth. &uot;I think it’s a great crowd.&uot;

One of the main attractions was a game that allowed the children to do just what their parents didn’t want them to do &045;&045; get wet. The kids stood behind a wired hole in a large board while other children threw water balloons at them. &uot;It’s fun getting wet,&uot; Zoe Flattman, 10, said. &uot;And standing back there and laughing.&uot;

For Sydney Eidt, 9, the water was fun, but she enjoyed other events too.

&uot;The slide, and the cake walk,&uot; she said. &uot;I won two cakes.&uot;

Other games included softball toss, ring toss and bulls-eye.

&uot;I like to play softball and my favorite food is pickles,&uot; said eight-year-old Kyaira Todd as she ate a giant pickle.

For Nolan Voss, 9, and Buddy Livingston, 7, the best part of the day was winning prizes. &uot;I won a few things,&uot; Livingston said. &uot;An Indian spear and a sword. I tried them (games) all.&uot;

The festival, a part of Cathedral’s tradition for more than 150 years, also included raffles and homemade items for purchase.