NATCHEZ — It may have been cold, but that couldn’t keep locals from attending the Miss-Lou’s Christmas parades Saturday.

Snow was still on the sidewalk and on patches of grass in Ferriday at the start of the parade, and children passed the time they spent waiting for the floats to get there by throwing miniature snowballs at each other.

When the parade reached the crowd, however, the children snapped to attention and stood with arms outstretched, trying to catch as much candy as they could.

Afterward, Kathy Martin gathered up the candy she had collected.

“I thought it was a really nice parade,” she said.

“It turned out to be a beautiful day despite the snow.”

Gail Pryor agreed.

“It was very exciting, and we had a good time at it,” she said.

And six-year-old Imari Glasper said she enjoyed it, too, though it was hard for her to talk between taking bites of what she said was her favorite candy — Willy Wonka’s Nerds.

“I liked it,” she said. “I liked Santa Claus.”

But community pride and Christmas cheer sometimes have to take a backseat to safety, notably when the Concordia Fire District No. 2 truck had to back out of parade formation and respond to a call.

A fire district spokesperson later said the call was a minor electrical fire.

Saturday evening, some of those who attended the Ferriday parade — and a whole lot more — gathered in downtown Natchez for that city’s parade.

It was a time for the entire community to come together and have a good time, all in the name of Christmas, said Tierra Robinson, 8.

“It’s celebrating Christmas, and talking about how they like Christmas,” she said.

As the parade went on, marching bands, rock bands and dance groups made their way down parade route.

Destiney Kennedy, 14, said was having a good time.

“I really like the dance teams and the bands — they’re pretty good,” she said.

“I don’t like to miss the parade.”

But dance groups and musicians weren’t the only entry in the parade, and Santa made his way down Main Street playing the organ, followed by scenes from the life of Jesus and — ending the parade — horseback riders.

Chelsea Cox and her 1-year-old daughter were watching the parade along Main Street, and Cox said it was the first Natchez Christmas parade for either of them.

“I have been here for four years, and this is the first time I could come,” she said. “I love it.”