Calling all Shrimp Lovers of the Miss Lou!

It is that time again for the annual Junior Auxiliary of Natchez Shrimp Boil.

From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday you can come and get your plates or join us for some great local talent while watching the Mississippi River flow by.

This year marks the 21st year our non-profit organization has put on the shrimp boil. It is the largest fundraiser Junior Auxiliary has each year. The largest amount of our proceeds come from this event and helps us operate our local chapter as well as catch anything we are short on for other projects we do for the community.

Although the Shrimp Boil is in its 21st year, Junior Auxiliary has been around even longer, dating back to 1950 with the charter chapter beginning with 12 members. Ladies would pick up under-privileged children in what was once known as “Old Mexico” Under-the-Hill and other parts of town in their station wagons.

The children were brought to a small dependency of Auburn where they operated a nursery, fed the children breakfast, taught them about personal hygiene and self-esteem and fed them a good lunch. They provided the children with clothing and tricycles and other similar toys.  Then in the afternoon they returned the children to their families.

Later, the small dependency at Auburn was expanded to what we now know as the canteen. It was here that the Junior Auxiliary hosted the “Teen Canteen” that so many of our residents know. The building hosted many dances and provided a safe place for teens to have fun. These days, Junior Auxiliary uses the canteen for many projects and monthly meetings. The building is available to the public for daily, weekend or weekly rental use for functions such as family and class reunions, bridal and baby showers, receptions or business meetings or functions. It can be rented for just about any social event. We are also home to one of the local voting precincts during election time.

The 21st annual JA Shrimp Boil will be on the Natchez bluffs across from Bowie’s Tavern. Tickets are available for purchase from any JA member, Anruss Salon or Uptown Grocery. There will be a small amount of plates for sale the day of the event, but without a ticket, your plate cannot be guaranteed.

For the second year, the public is invited to come join us under the UMB tent on the bluffs to dine, enjoy the views of the river while listening to Taylor Spring perform. You can also purchase baked goodies from Edna Welch, Misty Lee and Veronica Boren.

We will also be selling our Belk Charity Sale tickets for $5 to attend the special sale at Belk on April 29th. You will receive a $5 discount off of your first purchase, so it is like getting your ticket for free to attend the private special sale and you are benefiting the local JA Chapter.

Last, we will have a table set up to raise money for the service dog desperately needed for the Woods Children. The service dog is a seizure alert dog and the cost is $17,000. No donation is too small or too large so even if you aren’t going to attend the boil for the entertainment, please consider passing some change or a few dollars to any of the JA women delivering plates to your car.

 

Chassity Cannon is the  Junior Auxiliary of Natchez vice president/treasurer and 2017 JA Shrimp Boil chairperson.