It is expected to be one of the biggest events the county has ever seen and the Carroll County Pilgrimage is on schedule with even more to offer.

Set to begin on Oct. 2 - 4, more events has been added on the agenda for the weekend affair that is also the celebration of the county's 175 anniversary.

"The phone calls have been pouring in," Pam Lee of the Carroll County Extension Service and Pilgrimage committee member said. "We recently had someone to call from south Mississippi and said they were planning to bring 40 tourist to Carrollton, and there were still more than 30 on the waiting list."

Lee said the caller said the bus only carried 40 people.

"Everyone is excited about the pilgrimage," Lee said.

Throughout the weekend, the festival continues with a Pioneer Day, where several educational exhibits are scheduled to give people, especially children, ann idea of what Carroll County was like in yesteryear.

More than 5,000 brochures were printed and issued to welcome centers across the state, all to get the word about the pilgrimage throughout Mississippi.

Lee said 3,000 of the brochures were mailed out and the additional ones will be handled throughout this region.

"We're having people call all the time," Lee said. "There are groups calling us that are interested in Carroll County. This will be a mystery trip."

New additions have been added to the weekend celebration. According to Lee, the pilgrimage committee met with country musicians Richard Outlaw and Jack Harper to perform at the tabernacle in North Carrollton from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

"They will present a Grand Ole Opry style musical program," Lee said. "There are no details yet, but there could be local talent needed for the event. This is very big and the tabernacle is big, it holds quite a few folks."

Also, recently added, is the flower show presented by the Cherokee Rose Garden Club. The show will be held at the Hart Building at the Carrollton Presbyterian Church from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

"There will be flower arraignments there that will be judged," Lee said. "Admission is free for the flower show."

Along with the new developments for the pilgrimage, citizens are also excited about the events scheduled for this fall. Lee said banners are being lifted in the towns and homeowners are preparing their homes for the event.

"Everybody is doing something," Lee said.

According to Lee, educational exhibits that consists of farming techniques by Ernie Flint, the county's extension agent, and a look at the old forestry industry and shape logs by the Carroll County Forestry Association. The Homemaker Volunteers of Vaiden will educate the crowd on quilting and Mary Hurt-Wright will give a presentation about her grandfather the blues legend Mississippi John Hurt. Even the Boys Scouts will give a presentation on open fire cooking. Current talks are also being made with the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, according to Lee.

Historic churches like the Bear Marsh M.B. Church, Carrollton Baptist, Carrollton Presbyterian, Carrollton Methodist Church, and Grace Episcopal Church will all become tourist attraction as a benchmark for the county's long history.

Another of the highlights of the weekend will be the wild game cookout, where cookers will show case their talents with deer, rabbits, fish, and other game.

"Many of the hunters have stored their meat in the freezer," Lee said. "The meat will be judged and the winners will be handed ribbons."

Lee said with the county's anniversary celebration, she hopes a new and renewed appreciation for the county. The cost of the weekend event will be $25 and $5 for children under 12.

For more information on this year's celebration visit www.visitcarrolltonms.com and for more information concerning the pilgrimage, contact Martha Cain at 237-6673 or the Carroll County Extension Service at 237-6926.