Mardi Gras festivities in the River City crank up this weekend.

The highlight is the eighth annual parade, sponsored by the Vicksburg Main Street Program. Floats will roll along Washington Street at 4 p.m. This year’s parade is dedicated to  Vincent “Woosie” Bonelli Jr., who died in October at age 93.

“He loved Mardi Gras. He would be at the parade all dressed up with silly string. He would catch beads with his cane,” said Kim Hopkins, Main Street executive director. “A banner will be walked in the parade in his honor.”

His son, Chandler Bonelli, will ride in the parade. “I think of him every day. I will be wearing some of my father’s beads at the parade.”

“It’s a great honor,” he said. “I want to thank all the people at Main Street for thinking of my dad. My sisters and I appreciate them for the honor.”

Trophies will be awarded to floats for Best in Show, Best Nonprofit, Best Business, Most Original and Most Enthusiastic. Business windows and residential balconies will also receive awards.

This year’s king and queen will be Billy Sheffield of Sheffield Rentals and Alice Hebler of Paper Plus. Jazz music will play along the street, and restaurants will serve New Orleans-style food.

Hopkins suggests people arrive early. “It’s a fun and great day for the families to enjoy downtown.”

The deadline to enter a float has passed, but there are still slots available, she said.

After the beads are thrown and the floats are parked, revelers can put on their party duds and kick up their heels at the  Vicksburg Foundation for Historic Preservation’s seventh annual ball.

The event starts at 8 p.m. at the Southern Cultural Heritage Center. Tickets are $30 in advance and $40 at the door.

The weekend will round out Feb. 22, a week from today, with Mardi Gras Mississippi River cruises aboard the Sweet Olive. Excursions start at 5 p.m. and are $20 for adults, $12 for ages 13-17, $8 for 7-12, $5 for 3-6 and free for children younger than 3. Reservations are necessary.

Also offered during the weekend will be a mask-making workshop for children 5 and older at the Southern Cultural Heritage Center. The Friday class has been filled, but parents are encouraged to inquire. Kathy Gibson, Vicksburg High School art instructor, will teach the workshop from 3:45 to 5 p.m. Cost is $10 per child.

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Contact Manivanh Chanprasith at mchanprasith@vicksburgpost.com.