My family and I are lifelong residents of Natchez-Adams County.

Six years ago I had a brainstorm to bring scrapbookers to Natchez for a three-day event. This was/is new to Natchez, but it is a big event in other places. In the early months of 2005 I attended an event in Monroe, La., that had around 1,000 women from all over.

The name of the event was called Bayou Scrappin. I was not allowed to hand out anything about Scrap-N-on the River, but collected a lot of names and addresses so I could mail/e-mail them information. A Web site was set up so it would be easy for scrapbookers to find us. It worked because I received a call from promoter of a scrapbooker convention in Mandeville, La. The name of the event in Mandeville is called Scrapfest Productions. I was invited to attend Scrapfest. They have between 600-800 scrapbookers for three full days of scrapbooking.

Scrap-N-on the River and Scrapfest network together to help support one another. The difference between the two conventions are two things — our hospitality and walking distance to the hotels. In Mandeville, La., we have to drive to Covington, La., to get to the closest hotel. In Natchez, of course, at midnight each night — when the scrapbooking ends — our scrapbookers walk to their hotel. Over the last five years our convention has grown considerably.

As of Feb. 28, 2009, we have 106 full weekenders registered and paid with five months still to go. Our family and friends are the only ones that help with the convention.

Lisa Bearnson will be attending the Scrap-N-on the River.

Lisa is the co-founder of Creating Keepsake. Lisa writes and article every month in magazines and I feel if we show her “Natchez hospitality,” then she will write about her stay in Natchez and Scrap-N-on the River. Lisa will be teaching classes, signing books and speaking out on Saturday night at the pajama party.

We would like to invite everyone to come by and see what Scrap-N-on the River is all about. There will be scrapbook vendors here for anyone that might need paper and embellishments that you cannot find at Walmart. You can come in and shop for $5. This is a great way for teachers to pick up new ideas for their class.

I did not think I would ever need math, but I have to use it daily in scrapbooking. I have learned a creative way of doing math and I love it!

The scrapping starts at 3 p.m. Thursday and continues through Saturday.

Pam Frank is the organizer of Scrap-N-on the River.