Downtown merchants are rolling out the red carpet to welcome the Miss Mississippi Pageant contestants and their families during the week of the crown.

The merchants gathered Wednesday morning to assemble goodie bags to welcome the pageant contestant’s families to Vicksburg.

“These are donations that the exhausted, wonderful parent of the contestant can enjoy,” Regina Gailani of Art and Soul said. “We just want to let the parent know, we know she wouldn’t be here without you.”

The families were given the gift bags Sunday after the last goodbyes were said to their daughters before a week of pageant preparation and competition. One bag was made for each contestant’s family.

“Inside the bags are everything from whimsical little gifts to candies to fresh baked cookies,” Gailani said.

Vivian Monistere of Keystone Antique Furnishings said the bags also offer information on downtown shops, perfume samples and a maraca.

“They’ll have the whole week to look through there and come visit us,” Monistere said.

This is the first year the merchants have offered a welcome bag, and it was done in cooperation with the Miss Mississippi Board of Trustees who embraced the idea.

“We just wanted to bring them some more emphasis because they bring a lot to Vicksburg between their families, friends, relatives, everybody who’s coming in,” Monistere said. “So we’re trying to promote it more and give them some more attention.”

Every year downtown is involved with the pageant through the parade, an autograph session and it serves as the home of the pageant with the Vicksburg Convention Center located downtown. The merchants have been around every year to aid in last minute dress, shoe or jewelry emergencies and offer delivery of gifts and souvenirs to the contestants.

“We just wanted to do more,” Gailani said.

She said the merchants have been preparing for the pageant for weeks.

This year each block has a banner announcing “Downtown Puts on the Crown!” and each store has placed a decorative crown in their shop window.

“Each one of the crowns are very individual, they express a lot of personality and they’re really cool,” Monistere said.

Plus, the Vicksburg Main Street Program has spray painted about 20 crowns on street corners.

“It’s a coordinated effort with the Miss Mississippi Board and Main Street,” Gailani said.