NATCHEZ — It is fall cleaning time.

The Natchez-Adams County Chamber of Commerce Tourism Council is asking citizens and home and business owners to clean up after themselves — and after someone else, too.

The council has designated the first of each month as a clean up day for the community to make sure the area is tidy for tourists and locals.

Lynn Fortenbery, co-chair of the tourism council said, October is one of the busiest months of the year, so it is even more important to have a clean city.

“Fall Pilgrimage and balloon race will bring a lot of people into our city and our downtown,” Fortenbery said. “If someone comes to town and all they see is trash, that means, to them, that we don’t care about our city.

“Why would people want to come to a city that people don’t care about?”

Fall Pilgrimage is Oct. 1–15 and the Great Mississippi River Balloon Race is Oct. 16-18. The Phatwater Kayak Challenge is Oct. 9. The Natchez Convention Center is hosting a Mississippi Department of Education convention, a Mississippi Department of Transportation convention and a Mississippi radiology technology convention in October as well.

The council hopes people will spend a little extra time making sure lawns are well maintained, trash is picked up and streets and sidewalks are clean.

Fortenbery also encourages citizens to not be afraid to stop people who drop trash on the ground.

“If you see someone littering, pick it up, but also let them know not to litter and where a trash can is,” she said.

The council hopes to begin more community cleanup days in targeted areas that involve school and business groups in the future, but right now the group is just asking for people to clean around their own properties and places of work.

“We hope everyone will grab a trash bag and pick up on the streets,” Fortenbery said.