NATCHEZ — Looking to revive a fallen tradition, a local group is calling for patriots to put on their marching shoes for a Veterans Day parade.

The Miss-Lou Veterans’ Coalition plans to have the first Veterans Day parade since 2005 on Nov. 9, and wants locals who are willing to walk, ride in cars and enter floats to participate.

“We like to take every opportunity we can to honor and remember and respect our veterans,” coalition president Doug McCallister said. “It is also important to note that on Memorial Day, we honor those veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice, and on Veterans Day we honor those living veterans and thank them —and their families — for the sacrifices they make.”

Coalition member Leigh Anne Mason said the effort is similar to the resurrection of the Christmas parade, which had ceased for a few years at one point.

“My idea is to get individuals to ride in convertibles, and kind of put their story out there, and just draw recognition to those who have served and those who are currently serving,” she said. “We want to bring attention back to what Veterans Day is all about.”

The entry fee for a float is $25, while the cost for other entries into the parade is $15.

“Anyone can enter, we are just asking that it be a be a patriotic theme in nature,” McCallister said.

While the parade will be Nov. 9, McCallister said a formal Veterans Day program will be hosted at Copiah-Lincoln Community College’s Natchez campus.

The Nov. 9 event will also include a chili cook-off in the morning and a flag retirement ceremony in the afternoon.

For more information, contact McCallister at 601-431-2096, Mason at 601-493-5244,Vernon Stevens at 318-719-9520 or Crystal Davis at 601-597-3201.

More information can also be found on the Miss-Lou Veterans’ Coalition’s Facebook page.