On Friday, residents throughout the Miss-Lou got ready to bring 2000 in with a bang by buying their own fireworks.

Five tents were set up along U.S. 61 north of Natchez, with another set up outside Vidalia.

&uot;Shell shots&uot; — smaller versions of those used at fireworks displays — were among the bigger sellers, followed by the old standbys, bottle rockets.

&uot;I’m just buying these because he wants to,&uot; said one man who bought a big bag of multi-colored rockets for his son.

Angela Brandenburg, who manages one of the fireworks tents on U.S. 61, said sales have exploded this year. As of 2:30 p.m. Friday, their sales had doubled compared to that time last year.

&uot;At dark-thirty, you’ll see business pick up quite a bit,&uot;&160;Brandenburg said. &uot;The parking lot will be full. We won’t be able to look up, it’ll be so busy.&uot;

Across the highway, the manager of another tent said sales had been about the same as they were at that time in 1998.

&uot;But you’ll never be able to tell what your sales have been until after 12, because it doesn’t really pick up until after 5,&uot;&160;Tim Henry said. &uot;Then, there will be as many people in this tent as you can have and still move around.&uot;