NATCHEZ &8212; A note to members of the 155th Infantry: Bring your marching shoes and your dancing shoes to Saturday&8217;s homecoming events, because you&8217;ll need them both.

That&8217;s because a full day &8212; and night &8212; of events are planned to officially welcome the unit, including more than 40 soldiers from the Miss-Lou, home from Iraq.

&8220;There&8217;ll be a parade &8230; a barbecue and a banquet with a photographer, speakers, dinner, a DJ and dancing,&8221; said Glenda Grayson of the 155th&8217;s Family Readiness Group, a support group for the soldiers&8217; families.

Members of the unit were flown back to Hattiesburg&8217;s Camp Shelby in small groups starting late last month, but an official homecoming was set for this month to allow all the area&8217;s 155th members to first make it home.

Kicking off Saturday&8217;s events will be a parade in the unit&8217;s honor starting a 10 a.m. at the parking lot across Canal Street from the convention center and winding its way through downtown to Martin Luther King Jr. Street.

Members of the 155th are encouraged to participate and to wear their Desert Combat Uniforms, or DCUs, to the event and to first assemble at the National Guard Armory at 8:30 a.m. before heading to the parade.

Other groups from the community are welcome to participate as long as they bring patriotic items such as flags to carry during the parade.

Those participating in the parade are asked to be at the convention center lot by 9:30 a.m. Saturday to begin lining up.

A barbecue for the 155th and their families will be held at Duncan Park after the parade. That event will be sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Firemen&8217;s Fund Association.

Then, at 7 p.m. Saturday, a banquet will be held in the unit&8217;s honor at the convention center. The event will include speakers and a tribute to fallen and wounded soldiers.

Soldiers of the 155th and their families are asked to attend. Veterans are also welcome to attend and can call the Family Readiness Group&8217;s Tracy Cowan at (601) 304-0068 for more information.

Such reservations must be made today in order for estimated attendance numbers to be given to caterers Monday.

Businesses, organizations or individuals can also call Cowan to sponsor a table at the event. A $200 sponsorship includes four banquet invitations for the sponsor. Prospective sponsors are also asked to contact Cowan today.

Dress for the banquet is church attire or semi-formal dress.