(02/28/03)Some will walk or run, some will revel and some may do both during a full day and night of activities Saturday in Vicksburg.

The 24th annual Run Thru History begins at 8:30 a.m. Two newer annual events, an afternoon Mardi Gras parade and an evening Mardi Gras ball, are also on tap.

The Run Thru History, which features a 10-kilometer foot race in and around Vicksburg National Military Park, has attracted more than 1,500 participants in past years.

Vicksburg’s second annual Mardi Gras parade, which will travel along Washington Street from Belmont to Clay, begins at 2:30 p.m. Organizers estimated it drew about 3,000 people last year.

And, for the first year, a Mardi Gras ball is scheduled for the Vicksburg Convention Center, 1600 Mulberry St. The black-tie-optional event is set for 8 p.m. until midnight.

Vicksburg Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director Lenore Barkley said she expects many who visit the city for the run to take part in at least one Mardi Gras event.

“It brings in lots of folks from all over the state since it’s a Mississippi Track Club-sanctioned event,” Barkley said of the run, adding that her office historically gets a lot of phone calls before the race asking for information and registration forms. “A lot of the folks were planning to be a part of what is going on” later in the day and night, including special events planned by local restaurants and casinos.

“Even folks in Jackson and close by will come over and make a weekend of it,” Barkley said.

Executive director Rosalie Theobald of Vicksburg Main Street, which is organizing the parade, said it was advertised to runners in a recent Mississippi Track Club newsletter and in fliers distributed to runners in their race packets.

“They will still have plenty of time to get from the park to downtown,” she said of runners and their supporters, post-race events for whom are scheduled to end about 1 p.m.

Saturday’s weather is forecast to be cloudy with an afternoon high of about 63 degrees. “The temperature should be ideal” for running, said Run Thru History race historian Rodgers Coffing, who has run all 23 races.

Vicksburg National Military Park superintendent Bill Nichols said the parking lot at the park’s visitors’ center, which is normally open to the public, would not be so on Saturday morning.

“If people are planning a recreational visit to the park, please don’t do it before 10 on Saturday to avoid all the congestion,” he said.

Race headquarters is the Battlefield Inn, 4137 N. Frontage Road, near where finish lines and message and results boards will be set up. Late registration, packet-distribution and a pre-race pasta dinner are set for there between 5 and 8 tonight.

Post-race activities, including live music by The Chill for runners and their supporters, will also take place there, race director Mack Varner said.

Late registration, which costs $25 for the 10K and 5K races and $10 for the one-miler, continues from 7 a.m. until 8 a.m. Saturday.

Races begin with the 10K at 8:30 a.m., the 5K at 8:35 a.m. and the one-miler at 10 a.m.

Downtown before the parade a jazz band, Jim Pickens and the All Stars, is scheduled to play.

At least 21 floats were reported registered by mid-week, with others continuing to sign up. The parade route is shorter than last year’s due to construction on Washington Street.

Entertainment at the Mardi Gras Masked Ball, a benefit for the Vicksburg Foundation for Historic Preservation, will be the Bluz Boys, executive director Nancy Bell said.

The ball costs $75 for couples and $37.50 for individuals, and beads and masks will be available there, Bell added. For more information call 636-5010.