NATCHEZ &045; Festivities on Saturday and Monday will put the Krewe of Killarney in the spotlight and provide celebrations of St. Patrick’s Day for the Miss-Lou area.

Members and prospective members are invited to the party and auction to be held at 7 p.m. Saturday at Truite Hall at Assumption Catholic Church, 10 Morgantown Road.

Anyone interested in the annual celebrations and the year-round philanthropic efforts of the krewe is invited to come and take part, said Sharon Goodrich, president of the krewe’s board of directors.

&uot;We invite anyone who thinks they might be Irish this time of the year,&uot; Goodrich said.

Dues are $15 for singles and $25 for families. Funds collected by the krewe go to scholarships and other donor funds. In 2002, the krewe awarded five college scholarships. The krewe also donated $1,000 to Pleasant Acre Day School and $1,000 to Holy Family Catholic School.

Scholarships are awarded on a need basis, with selection centering on students who excel in academics but who also have participated in community service.

The Rev. Mike O’Brien, the 2003 St. Patrick, will be on hand for the party, auction and parade. Goodrich said items for the auction should follow an Irish theme, if possible. &uot;Items should be marked with an appropriate initial cost so bids can begin at that price,&uot; she said. &uot;If possible, we’d like people to bring items to Truite Hall at 10 a.m. Saturday or by 6:30 p.m. so displays may be arranged prior to the auction.&uot;

Monday activities will begin with a Mass at St. Mary Basilica at noon. Lunch afterwards at the Eola Hotel, at about $11 per person, will be corned beef and cabbage and other foods appropriate for the day. The parade will form at Memorial Park next door to St. Mary on Main Street. The route will be down Main to the gazebo on the Bluff. Goodrich said insurance concerns prohibit from the parade anyone using mechanized vehicles, bicycles, skateboards or skates. However, small children or pets in wagons are welcome.

Virginia O’Beirne is sponsor of the Jackson-based Father of Waters Pipe & Drum Corps directed by Kris Carmichael, which will march in the parade.

&uot;Everyone can be Irish for a day,&uot; Goodrich said. The krewe encourages spectators to join in the parade as it passes but asks that respectful distance be kept behind the St. Patrick, the St. Patrick banner, the Veterans of Foreign War Honor Guard and the pipe and drum corps.

At the gazebo, a short program will culminate with St. Patrick’s tossing all available snakes into the Mississippi River.

An after-parade gathering will take place at 3 p.m. at Andrew’s Pub in the 300 block of Main Street.