Fall Pilgrimage kicks off with a ‘very good first day’

Published 12:00 am Sunday, September 28, 2008

NATCHEZ — If there seemed to be lots of cars with out-of-state license plates headed down one-way streets on Saturday — don’t worry, its just Pilgrimage.

Saturday marked the first day of the 2008 Fall Pilgrimage Tour season.

And this year’s Pilgrimage was a bit more unique than most.

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In recent months, several houses were taken off of, and added to, the roster of homes on tour.

Of the newest homes on tour, Rip Rap, on South Rankin Street, made its Pilgrimage debut Saturday.

The home’s owners, Richard and Brenda Edgin, were greeting guests as they passed through the house.

On the front porch, Brenda Edgin gave each tour group a brief history of the house before they began the tour.

In between groups of tour-goers, Edgin said she had steadily arriving and gracious guests throughout the day.

“It’s been wonderful,” she said.

During the tour, hoop-skirted tour guides pointed out the notable appointments of each room.

The sunroom, as the tour guide described, doesn’t have the same feel as the more traditionally decorated rooms of Rip Rap.

“It’s not so antique,” she said.

And while the room was not antique, as the guide noted, it was strikingly beautiful.

With works by James Michalopoulos and Salvador Dali, the sunroom was a distinctive addition to Pilgrimage.

“I just want them to enjoy it as much as we do,” Edgin said, of her guests.

Diane Gwin, in town from Laurel, said she particularly enjoyed the new houses on this year’s tour.

“But they’re all wonderful,” she said. “We love coming here.”

And Marsha Colson, Natchez Pilgrimage Tours’ interim manager said tourists, like Gwin, have been filling houses for the entire first day of Pilgrimage.

“It was a very good first day,” Colson said. “We’ve been seeing groups of six or eight for most of the day.”

And Colson also said she was pleased to see lots of locals on the tours.

“It’s something everyone should see,” she said.