NATCHEZ — Art, antiques and gardens will be the theme of this year’s annual Pilgrimage Garden Club Antiques Forum fundraiser.

The money raised at this year’s forum will be used to repaint the distinct onion-shaped dome at Longwood.

The paint is chipping and in desperate need of repair, Antiques Forum Co-chairman Genny Harrison said.

“When people come to visit Longwood or any of our other homes, they want to see it in excellent condition,” Harrison said. “They don’t want to see paint chipping and signs of wear and tear.”

But repainting the dome isn’t a cheap project. And for that reason, Longwood’s dome was chosen as the beneficiary of this year’s forum.

The forum began in 1974 to benefit King’s Tavern, which at that time belonged to the Pilgrimage Garden Club. The event became a popular yearly happening before taking a short hiatus and being resurrected last year.

This year’s event is Sept. 10 – 12 and registration is ongoing.

“These types of forums have their regular followers,” Harrison said. “And the one here is very well respected.”

Forum attendees will begin the three-day event with registration at the Natchez Grand Hotel followed by a cocktail party at Gloucester and buffet dinner at Longwood.

“The dinner is at Longwood, so forum participants will get a chance to see the house even if they can’t squeeze it in the rest of the weekend,” Harrison said.

The meat of the event begins Friday morning with the first of six lectures scheduled to start at 9:15 in the ballroom of the Natchez Grand Hotel.

“All of the lectures in some way pertain to art, antiques or gardens,” forum cochairman Georgeanne Brakenridge said. “It is all of the things Natchez is so well known for.”

The lectures will cover topics such as American art, early fashions, portraits and landscaping.

The first lecture is one forum participants don’t want to miss, Harrison said. That’s because lecturer Wendell Garrett is a superstar among antiques experts.

Garrett is the senior vice president at Sotheby’s of New York and editor-at-large of “The Magazine Antiques.”

He is also a driving force behind the PGC Antiques Forum.

“He loves Natchez and helps us so much with this event,” Harrison said. “And he is so highly thought of in his field. He will be a big draw.”

There are four lectures on Friday and two on Saturday. All of the lectures are in the ballroom at The Natchez Grand Hotel.

The final lecture of the forum, at 10 a.m. Saturday, will be popular among forum participants and Natchezians for a couple of reasons, Harrison said.

The lecture, titled “Historic Natchez Landscapes and Gardens: Town, Suburbs and Countryside” will not only focus on Natchez’s garden, but will be presented by Ron Miller, former director of the Historic Natchez Foundation and current executive director of the Gulf Coast field office of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

“People love Ron and Mimi (Miller) and they both are so knowledgeable,” Harrison said.

Following that final lecture, forum participants will participate in a progressive lunch and garden tours at six private Natchez houses. The houses on tour are Greenlea, The Governor Holmes House, Ravennaside, 707 State St., The Barnes’ House and The Elms.

“For the people to open up their private homes for this just shows what a support the town has for preservation,” Harrison said. “Preserving our history and keeping up homes in excellent condition is good for this town.”

Registration is $175 for Friday events, $125 for Saturday events or $250 for the weekend. A Friday dinner lecture at either Dunleith or Monmouth is also available for an extra $60.

For more information about the forum, call Jan Scarborough, event registrar, at 601-445-7479.