NATCHEZ — Hundreds of locals flocked downtown Friday as glittering beads of every color rained down onto Main Street and into outstretched arms grabbing for the prized jewels of the Krewe of Phoenix’s annual Mardi Gras parade.

The sun was just beginning to set as the multi-colored and multi-themed parade floats draped in decorations and filled with costumed characters began to roll on the street.

The parade was a family affair for mother and daughter Martha Goodman and Leigh Anne Mason who brought the children in their family out to celebrate one of their favorite times of the year.

Mason said she canceled the children’s basketball practice so they could all make it out to the parade together.

Cousins Shelby Mason, 10, Maci Jones, 6, Landon Davis, 10, and Dylan Troxler, 10, and Shelby’s friend Savannah Spear, 11, all said the best part of the parade is catching beads.

The children climbed up onto the metal barricades on the street and waved and screamed in excitement to the passing floats as they began to amass a sizeable collection of beads.

“Beads, beads” Shelby shouted to a member of the Krewe of Krazies dancing atop a double-deck riverboat float. “Throw to me.”

Mason said the children come to the parade each year and leave with a neck full of beads.

“As soon as they get home, they go through them and pick out their favorites,” she said.

After Mardi Gras season is long gone, Goodman said she takes the children’s beads to Pleasant Acre Day School and recycles them each year.

Mardi Gras is a special time of the year for Mason’s family, and she said Friday’s parade provides a much-needed escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

“It’s really nice just to see them have such a good time,” she said.

The Phoenix parade is one of the last big celebrations before Mardi Gras ends, but Mason said she and the children look forward to it every year.

“We don’t really think of it as the end of Mardi Gras, it’s still a special time and something fun for us to do. We come every year, and we’ll keep coming.”