Saturday evening will bring good and bad news to Natchez.

The good news? Dozens of hardworking residents will get a well-deserved rest.

The bad news? Our busiest tourist season will end, taking with it the dollars the wonderful out-of-towners bring.

But we knew the end was coming, and there’s always Fall Pilgrimage and the Great Mississippi River Balloon Race for a good shot in the economic arm.

So let’s focus on the good.

Hosts and hostesses, singers, dancers, narrators and performers of all kinds have made major sacrifices since early March to make Spring Pilgrimage a success.

The last of the season’s entertainment options kicked off Sunday for a weeklong performance. Songs of the Civil War involves several visiting musicians and a few locals and tells the story of the Civil War in the area.

The show is a special one just for the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War. Natchez Festival of Music organizers and Westminster Presbyterian Church have partnered to make the show possible.

Songs of the Civil War picked up where the Historic Natchez Tableaux left off. The pageant ended Saturday after four performances a week for four weeks. The thought is simply exhausting, yet we know Tableaux is much more than a thought for many in town.

Southern Exposure and Southern Road to Freedom will wrap up this week as well, giving large casts a needed rest.

So to all those who’ve spent hours on their feet, nights on their toes and mornings soothing their tired voice, thank you. You make Pilgrimage great.