This year marks the 75th anniversary of the Natchez Spring Pilgrimage, and you are invited to celebrate this milestone with us.

Since 1932, the ladies, children and gentlemen of the Natchez Garden Club and the Pilgrimage Garden Club have been dressing in 19th-century costumes and welcoming guests from all over the world to Natchez, both in our historic homes and on stage in evening entertainments or “pageants” during Pilgrimage.

This year, to honor and celebrate the thousands of Natchezians who have participated in Spring Pilgrimage entertainments, we would like to ask you to join us if you have ever participated in the Pilgrimage pageants.

We mean those who participated in the first pageant, those who participated last year, and everyone in between!

Wear your costume if you would like to — or can! That could even mean a prop that you carried or wore.

You can come more than once, too. For some of you, that would be practically every night.

Each night of the Historic Natchez Pageant we will be honoring a different group of participants.

We ask participants to arrive at the City Auditorium by 7:30 and enter by the side entrance on Canal Street.

After the presentation of the Garden Club president, the curtain will close again and the participants will come on stage for the presentation. After the presentation, you may leave or go to your seat.

Please come and encourage your fellow participants. We know the tourists in the audience (and probably you, too) will be astounded by the amount of volunteer effort that has gone into this production over the years.

Here is the schedule for honoring past participants at this year’s pageant:

On March 9, we will honor former kings.

On March 10, we will honor past queens.

On March 12, all those who have been pages will be honored.

On March 14, we invite all who have participated in The Hunt and Raising of the Flag.

On March 16, we will honor all former dancers in The Polka, along with Polka favor girls, and teachers.

On March 17, all those who participated in The Court, including American flag bearer, Confederate flag runner and court drummer will be honored.

On March 19, past pageant chairmen will be honored.

On March 21, the boards of directors and the presidents of the garden clubs will be honorees.

On March 23, past participants of picnics, school scenes and party scenes, along with teachers, will be honored.

On March 24, former participants of Showboat, Fanny Eisler and teachers will be honorees.

On March 26, all hosts and hostesses at Pilgrimage houses will be honored.

On March 28, members of pageant committees will be honored.

On March 30, participants of weddings, brides and grooms, will be honored.

On March 31, past participants of Soiree, including dancers and teachers, will be honorees.

On April 2, costume committees, seamstresses, musicians, stagehands and ushers will be honored at the pageant.

On April 4, those who participated in former ballets such as Audubon and the court ballet and their teachers are invited to attend as honorees.

On April 6, placard bearers will be honored.

And on April 7, Maypole dancers and teachers will be honored.

Come join us for this special season of celebration.

Ruthie Coy is a member of Pilgrimage Garden Club and has been involved in plans for celebrating 75 years of Pilgrimage.