By Christian Coffman

The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — The 61st annual Miss-Lou Easter Egg Hunt is set for 10 a.m. Saturday at Duncan Park.

Approximately 4,000 to 5,000 plastic Easter eggs will be up for grabs during the event, which will include a hunt for 1- to 3-year-olds and another for 4- to 8-year-olds.

Bob Ewing has hosted the free event for the past 25 years, and said area residents who participated in the hunt in the past now bring their children and grandchildren.

“It’s something that we pride ourselves in doing,” Ewing said. “The 4- to 8-year-old hunt is where a lot of the kids show up,” Ewing said. “I call it the eighth wonder of the world because there’s so many kids running around.”

Ewing said the Miss-Lou hunt is one of the biggest in the area and brings in folks from as far away as Crystal Springs.

“It’s such a big event that it’s an icon for the city of Natchez,” Ewing said.

Sponsors, including local banks, car dealerships and Walmart, support the hunt and provide toys and merchandise for children who find specially numbered eggs.

“Some of the eggs have candy or dollars inside, but most have numbers that have toys associated with them,” Ewing said. “I store up toys all year long, so when the event comes around I’ve got hundreds.”

The hunt’s official mascot, Jelly Bean, will be handing out the prizes to the children.

Ewing’s father, P.K. Ewing Jr., worked with the egg hunt in the late 1950s until Ewing’s older sister Diana Nutter from WTYJ/WMIS Radio took over.

Nutter said the hunt was originally intended for the children at the Natchez Children’s Home Services, along with the other orphanages in the area.

“The egg hunt was held for them and we opened it to the public around 1970,” Nutter said. “We used to boil eggs and dye them in big crawfish pots. That was after it was open to the public.”