Jenna and Brooke Winters stand behind their Peeps diorama, "The Eastern Regional Jam," which was patterned after a performance of their father's band in the Mecklenburg Inn. Courtesy photo

SHEPHERDSTOWN — Peeps lovers went wild on Saturday, as 13 Peeps dioramas competed to win in the individual child, individual adult or group categories in The Station At Shepherdstown, which sponsored the event.

The Spring Peep Show was brought back to Shepherdstown by local resident Todd Cotgreave, after a decade’s hiatus.

“It was awesome! We had a steady line of visitors all day long,” Cotgreave said, clearly pleased with the turnout, especially considering its last-minute addition to Saturday’s series of Easter events.

The winner of each category was determined by the number of tickets purchased and placed in bags corresponding with each diorama. The first place winner in the group category was by a book club in Shepherdstown, featuring a diorama of Peeps holding a book protest at The Wall. The second place winner in the group category was created by Shepherdstown Elementary School’s Fifth Grade Sketch Club. The first place winner in the adult category was by sisters Jenna and Brooke Winters — a diorama inspired by a performance of their father’s band in the Mecklenburg Inn entitled, “The Eastern Regional Jam.” The second place winner in the adult category was by Susan Loosk, who created a Peeps diorama in a colorful doll house. The first place winner in the kids category was by Emily Vaughn — a diorama inspired by the new country album of Beyonce, borrowing the famous singer’s last name to use at the end of its title, “Cow Peep Carter.” The second place winner in the kids category was by Kate Winters, featuring a diorama of Peeps at a skate park, called “Skatin’ With my Peepz.”

Each winner received coupons to local businesses, including Tommeez Pizza and Subs and Dogwood General Store.

Susan Loosk's doll house Peeps diorama sits on display in The Station At Shepherdstown on Saturday. Courtesy photo

“People had a lot of fun with it! We had a great turnout,” said Shepherdstown resident Jenny Haynes, who gave Cotgreave the initial push to organize this event. “People came in to vote all day long. I couldn’t believe how busy they were!”

A total of $213 was raised from the ticket proceeds, according to Cotgreave. All of the proceeds will be donated to Dakota’s Dream Animal Rescue, which Haynes recommended as a worthy recipient, after recently seeing the positive impact of the no-kill, nonprofit animal rescue organization.

“A few of my friends had that organization help them with a couple of their stray cats. Next year, we’ll probably pick up another animal rescue to benefit from the proceeds of this event,” Haynes said. “Although the peep show didn’t originally serve as a fundraiser, we thought it would be appropriate for it to be a fundraiser for animal rescues, since Peeps are in the shape of animals.”

Cotgreave said that he envisions next year’s event being bigger and better, with more dioramas on display and live music by the band depicted in this year’s “The Eastern Regional Jam” diorama.

The first place winning diorama in the group category was by a book club in Shepherdstown, featuring Peeps holding a book protest at the Wall. Courtesy photo