Tourists are up for unconventional fun, in fact, I think they expect it.

Our staff learned that truth the hard way Sunday as we were having a bit of fun ourselves.

You may have seen us, heard us or maybe even feared us as we ran, drove and screamed across town as part of our annual Profile kickoff.

Each year, five months before the publication of our biggest annual project, our staff goes a little nuts. In the spirit of team building and good clean fun, we dream up a whacky way to announce our upcoming Profile theme to our staff before the hard work begins.

We’ve defeated James Bond villains, played Let’s Make a Deal and grilled out downtown in year’s past.

But this year we raced, the Amazing Race, to be exact.

We modeled our kickoff party after the popular CBS television show “The Amazing Race.”

On the show, teams of two race around the world, completing culturally significant challenges along the way.

Our budget pales in comparison to that of CBS, so we simply raced across the Miss-Lou.

Approximately 25 members of our staff — from newsroom to pressroom — worked in teams to follow clues, complete “roadblocks” and get to the end first.

In the end, a trio of sports editor, classified salesperson and composing expert won out, taking home cash prizes and a heap of pride.

But first, we caused a bit of a scene.

The first clue sent teams to the Natchez City Cemetery where they had to seek out specific gravestones to find their next clue.

Unfortunately, one team’s clue was gone. We later found it in the hands of a tourist walking around the cemetery looking for the party.

The tourists thought the small sheet of paper was part of an attraction intended for them, it seems.

As other teams headed to one of our favorite local shops — the Old South Trading Post (thanks for your help Jonathan Wood) — to complete their first roadblock, we attracted more attention.

A man enjoying the day near the bluff saw our staff running full speed toward the shop.

He thought there was a giveaway at the end, and practically joined in line.

Unfortunately, we disappointed him as our teams headed to Vidalia for a bit of counting before heading back to walk Roth Hill with flutes of water in tow.

There, another passing man, asked us where the refreshments were, thinking the event must be one in which the public was welcome.

We ended our race with the Great Sun (a costumed staff member) at the Grand Village where teams struggled to put together puzzle pieces that revealed this year’s theme — Community of One.

Just like each member of our Amazing Race teams was necessary for any one team to win, each member of the Miss-Lou makes our community what it is.

We started Monday making calls to sources and businesses that we hope will help make this year’s Profile edition the best ever.

Our work will continue until early February, when the edition goes to press.

It will arrive on doorsteps around the area Sunday, Feb. 27. If you don’t already subscribe, contact our circulation department at 601-442-9101 to make sure you get Profile 2011.

In the meantime, I’m thinking of creating a Natchez version of the Amazing Race that starts at the Natchez Visitor Reception Center and sends tourists on a hunt for clues, history and culture all around our great town.

Tourists showed us Sunday that there might just be a market for a different kind of tour.

Julie Cooper is the managing editor of The Natchez Democrat. She can be reached at 601-445-3551 or julie.cooper@natchezdemocrat.com.