NATCHEZ — St. Nicholas will make his way across town today during the annual Santa Claus parade.

The parade was started in 1928, and the primary purpose of the Santa Claus Committee, which hosts the parade, is to raise money for charity, committee member Johnny Byrne said.

“The reason this thing was started was because the founders were concerned that a lot of children in the Natchez area would not have Christmas, and they wanted to find a way for them to have Christmas,” he said.

That means that every year since then the committee has raised money for the Children’s Christmas Tree Fund.

“If they don’t get the donations they need, we give them what they need to make up the difference and help everyone on their list,” Byrne said.

The committee also donates to a number of other local organizations, including Catholic Charities, the Sunshine Shelter, the Salvation Army and the Humane Society’s building fund.

Along with traveling through many of the local neighborhoods, the parade will make stops at four homes where the children of invited guests will meet this year’s Santa and he will give them quarters, Byrne said.

“Everybody on the committee loads up their cars with candy and all the kids in the neighborhoods come out and see,” he said.

Including stops, the parade is expected to last for approximately eight hours.

“We try to cover as much of the town as we can,” Byrne said.

The parade route is as follows:

-The parade gathering will be at 7:30 a.m. at the Elk’s Club on Lower Woodville Road, and will leave at 8 a.m. to pick up Santa.

-The Santa pickup will be at 8:15 a.m. at the home of Michael Cates at 207 South Wall St.

-The parade will leave with Santa at 8:30 a.m. and will follow the route, beginning with the Fatherland Division.

The parade will proceed:

– Left on Shadow Lane to right on Crestwood to right on Edgewood to right on Creekbend Road.

From there it will turn right on Arrowhead to right Melrose-Montebello Parkway to left on Mansfield to Jefferson Davis Boulevard to left on South Temple to right on Forrest to right on South Meadow across Jefferson Davis to North Meadow followed around to North Temple to right on Jefferson Davis to Hwy 61 to the Highland Subdivision

-From there, it will turn right onto Woodville Drive, left on McGregor to left on Pecanway to across Highland Boulevard.

It will continue on Pecanway to left on Woodville Drive to Highland and left on Highland Boulevard to the Dunkerron Subdivision

-From there, it will turn right on Briarwood to right onto Rollingwood to left on Tanglewood to right on Briarwood to left on Lower Woodville Road.

It will travel across the four-way stop and proceed on to Colonel Pitchford Parkway to left on U.S. 61 S to the Trees Subdivision

-From there, it will turn right onto Old Prentiss, right onto Live Oak and left onto to Pecanwood

It will make the loop around Pecanwood back to Live Oak, turn left on Live Oak to U.S. 61 South and left on the highway to Dunbar road.

-At 9:30 a.m., the parade will stop at the house of Johnny and Charlotte Byrne at 40 Dunbar Road for approximately 30 minutes.

From there the parade will take the following route:

-In the Montebello Subdivisoin, the parade will turn right on Sherwood to Westwood, turn right on Westwood to Maplewood, turn left on Maplewood to Eastwood to Ridgewood.

It will then turn left on Ridgewood to Kenwood, turn left on Kenwood to Englewood, turn right on Englewood to Westwood, turn right on Westwood back towards Ridgewood.

It will turn left on Ridgewood to S. Shields. Turn right on S. Shields to Eastbrook.

-It will take Eastbrook and turn right on Holly Drive to Eastbrook again and Right to John Glenn Drive until it reaches the Westover Subdivision.

The parade will turn left on John Glenn Avenue to Earhart to left on Lindbergh then right on Margaret Avenue. to Liberty Road and left on Liberty Rd to U.S. 61 to right on U.S. 61 to Morgantown Road.

-From there, it will turn right onto Mount Carmel, loop back to Morgantown Road and right to the Oakland Subdivision, bearing right on Oakland Loop back to Morgantown Road and right to the Brooklyn Subdivision.

From there, it will turn right on Second Street at Morgantown Baptist Church, travel through the stop sign to Brooklyn, turn left on Brooklyn to Magnolia Avenue.

Next it will turn right on Magnolia, loop back to Brooklyn, turn left on Brooklyn to Brookfield Subdivision.

It will turn left on Second Street at Morgantown Baptist Church, go through the stop sign to Brooklyn, turn left and travel to Magnolia Avenue, where it will turn right and loop back to Brooklyn and turn left on Brookfield.

-From Brookfield it will travel to Horseshoe, loop back to Brookfield, right to Morgantown Road, right to U.S. 61 and right towards scales through intersection continuing on D’Evereux to St. Catherine to left on Auburn to 498 Park Place.

-The parade will stop at 10:40 a.m. at 498 Park Place, the home of Steve Plauche, for approximately 30 minutes.

-From there it will travel right on Park Place to right on Magnolia to left on Winchester to right on Homochitto to the Braden School.

The parade will arrive at Braden School at approximately 11:15 a.m. and will leave the school at approximately noon and travel to the Natchez Convention Center for lunch from 12:15 to 1 p.m.

-The parade will leave the convention center at 1 p.m. and turn left at Pearl Street, and will travel down Pearl Street until it reaches Oak Street. It will stop at the Guardian Shelter, and then take Oak to Myrtle Street, turn right to Elm and take Elm right to Union Street.

-At 1:15 p.m., the parade will stop at the Natchez Children’s Home at 806 North Union St. for Santa to entertain the children.

-At 2:10 p.m., the parade will proceed to the home of Bradley Harrison at 708 Orleans St. and will stop for approximately 30 minutes.

-At 2:40 p.m. the parade will leave the Harrison residence and will proceed to Homochitto Street, turn left on Duncan Avenue, left on Auburn Avenue , right on Ratcliff Place, left on Melrose to right on Roselawn.

From there, within the Roselawn subdivision, the parade will travel:

Down Roselawn to right on South Circle, follow the loop around to Roselawn, turn right on Roselawn to right on Miller, left on Roselawn to right on Marquette Avenue to left on Itasca around back to Roselawn.

It will turn right on Roselawn, left on North Circle, right on Mississippi, right on Linden and will follow around to Melrose before turning right on Melrose to right on Liberty road until it reaches Old Pond Road.

-It will turn left on Old Pond Road, left on Somerset, left on Bayou Lane and right on Oakhurst loop around to Old Pond Road and right on Old Pond road back to Liberty Road.

It will turn left on Liberty Road to right on the access ramp to Seargent S. Prentiss Drive to right on John R. Junkin Drive to right on Glenwood to 214 Glenwood Drive, the residence of Kevin and April Colbert and the parade’s final stop from 3:10 to 3:40 p.m.

All events at the homes are by invitation only.