The annual Miss Mississippi Parade in downtown Vicksburg is less than three weeks away, but the Main Street office would like your help in pulling it together.

Kim Hopkins, executive director of Vicksburg Main Street, said they are still in need of “a lot” of cars and drivers to carry the contestants in the parade.

The parade includes each of the 49 contestants as well as their princesses and special guests from the children’s hospital in Jackson. In all, they will need more than 80 cars and drivers to participate in the event.

“We need people with convertibles to come drive,” Hopkins said. “If they have a convertible, it can be an antique convertible, a new convertible, pretty much any kind and of course we supply the contestant.”

Hopkins said the drivers don’t need to be from Vicksburg and if they know a contestant and she doesn’t already have a driver they can request to be her chauffer. 

“They can be from here in Vicksburg, the contestant’s hometown and we have some people from the coast who come up every year and drive. We have people from all over who drive for us,” Hopkins said.

The parade will be June 18, and officially kicks off Miss Mississippi week in Vicksburg. The parade starts at 7 p.m. and Hopkins said they ask that drivers in the parade arrive at the Vicksburg Convention Center between 5 and 5:30 p.m. to get ready for the parade.

To register to drive in the parade, call the Main Street office at 601-634-4527 or email kimh@vicksburg.org.

The parade is the first in a week worth of events that includes multiple autograph parties and of course the pageant itself. The pageant preliminaries will take place Wednesday, Thursday and Friday evening at the Vicksburg Convention Center and the finale and crowning will be Saturday night.