FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Autumn Splendor on the Mississippi NATCHEZ, MS - Sept. 10, 2003 (Send2Press Newswire) -- Natchez Pilgrimage Tours (www.natchezpilgrimage.com) invites lovers of history and things beautiful to experience the 2003 Fall Pilgrimage of Homes. Southern belles in hoop skirts. Opulent mansions and plantation homes. The majestic Mississippi River. A town where history lives. The splendor of the pre-Civil War South will once again come to life in Natchez with the 2003 Natchez Fall Pilgrimage. Eighteen pre-Civil War mansions will open to the public for guided tours October 8 - 25. Many of these grand historic houses are private residences which open to visitors only during the annual Spring and Fall Pilgrimages. For more than 70 years, Natchez has opened its arms to lovers of history, architecture and decorative arts, and visitors have lost their hearts to this beautiful old city on the Mississippi River. Natchez has become synonymous with the term 'antebellum mansion,' and anyone who visits the city soon realizes why this is so. With more pre-1860 buildings than any other city its size in the United States, Natchez provides visitors escorted tours through 18th and 19th-century country houses, suburban villas and grand mansions, all furnished with exquisite antiques and many surrounded by old gardens and parks. Tours are conducted by hoopskirted hostesses who interpret the rooms, furnishings and history of each house. Houses open daily for morning and afternoon tours of three houses each. Since the schedule of houses changes each day, tour tickets are color-coded. The tour pass tickets are simple. A $23 pass allows you to visit any or all of the three houses on tour on a given morning or afternoon. Children between the ages of 6 - 17 traveling with their parents are half-price. Evenings throughout the Fall Pilgrimage feature live entertainment. Amos Polk's Voices of Hope Spiritual Singers' performance includes a traditional plantation-style dinner in the Carriage House Restaurant on the grounds of palatial Stanton Hall. Admission is $23 per person. The Mississippi Medicine Show a rousing, old fashion, showboat style review. Performed at the Natchez Little Theater. Admission is $12.00 per person. Many of Natchez's historic houses also offer bed-and-breakfast accommodations in country plantations and elegant townhouses. Information about tour tickets, performances, group rates and bed-and-breakfast reservations may be obtained by contacting Natchez Pilgrimage Tours, Canal at State Street, at (800)647-6742 or (601)446-6631. More information: http://www.natchezpilgrimage.com MEDIA CONTACT: John Saleeby of Natchez Pilgrimage Tours +1-800-647-6742 FAX +1-601-446-8687 EMAIL: nptinfo@natchezpilgrimage.com /NOTE TO EDITORS: Photographs available; travel writers, editors invited for complimentary tours./ # # # --------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Important Note: to reach the person sending the news release contact: nptinfo@natchezpilgrimage.com If used for publication, please send specimen copy. [source of news = Natchez Pilgrimage Tours] ref: http://www.send2press.com/2archive/2003/pr_03_0910-natchez.txt --------------------------------------------------------------------------- s2p/n/0c/ MS / NATCHEZ, MISSISSIPPI