NATCHEZ — Thousands of local residents converged on the Natchez Convention Center Saturday to take part in the Ninth Annual Food and Lifestyle Show.

The show, in which 46 vendors man 73 booths, will continue from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Admission to the event is $3, but residents can get a free ticket with the purchase of $25 worth of groceries at one of the Markets, Del Loy with the Markets said.

Residents wandered through the aisles of booths, sampling and sometimes buying the goods vendors offered, from ice cream and coffee to jewelry and backyard grill utensils.

Natchez resident Susan Cassagne said the show has become a tradition for her.

“We come every year,” she said.

Vidalia resident Ellis Crooks agreed and said he came to the event every year as well.

“I just enjoy coming out and sampling all the food,” he said. “I like to see what new (products) have come out.”

Vendor Everett Hopper, selling a massaging shoe insert, said he had traveled more than 500 miles — from just outside Atlanta — to set up for the show.

Hopper initially had some reservations about the short duration of the show, he said.

“We had mixed emotions about coming because it’s only two days,” he said.

But early sales seemed to suggest he might have been wrong, Hopper said.

“It’s been pretty good so far,” he said.

Selling magnetic jewelry that reportedly helps with poor circulation and arthritis pain, Will McClung said his trek to the show was about 300 miles.

McClung said he came to the show last year — which he had heard about from a promoter — and sales were good enough for him to return.

“I didn’t set the trees on fire, but I did fair last year,” he said.

Some of the products that can be sampled include meat, ice cream, soft drinks, chips and baked goods fresh from the Market bakery.

Entertainment for the show Sunday includes a demonstration by Moo Sul Kwan Martial Arts, a fashion show by Cade’s Closet, musicians Hux and The Harper and a puppet show by the Heavenly Hands Puppeteers.

Sunday there will also be a prize drawing, the Grand Prize of which is a year’s worth of groceries, Loy said.