For those of us living in the United States, Easter is not complete until we have munched on a few Peeps - the chick and bunny-shaped marshmallows that simply melt in the mouth. It is therefore not surprising that these gooey treats are celebrities of sort - ones that have their own competitions and art shows.

One such show is currently going on at the Riverfront Arts Center in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Now in it's second year, the Peep Art Show was started as a week-long event, to attract visitors to the gallery. It was so successful that this year the organizers have decided to extend the show by two more weeks.

The exhibition which accepts entries from both amateur and professional artists, opened to long lines last Tuesday, and as visitors streamed in, they could be heard reminding themselves and their kids, to not eat any of the colorful exhibits.

This year's creations, range from a Peep adorned painting of US President, Barack Obama, to a 'Chick Magnet' - a marshmallow chick clad in cool sunglasses. Then there is the Peep Indian Village, complete with Tepees and all!

There is also a 'Mona Peep' in honor of the famous exhibit at the Louvre in Paris and a group of Peep Chicks, lounging on the beach on Spring Break! One young artist even created the opening scene from the 'Raiders of the Lost Ark', dubbing it 'Peepiana Jones'.

While the candy is now manufactured in a factory by Pennsylvania -based Company, Just Born Candy Inc, the first Peeps were hand-made in small batches at a tiny candy company called Rodda Candy.

Over the years, these tiny chicks and bunnies, have become so popular that the company recently opened a special store in Washington D.C., dedicated to all things Peep! Just Born Candy Inc., estimates that it sells over 700 million Peeps, each year - And that, is just during Easter! To read more fun facts about this yummy Easter tradition, checkout: http://www.marshmallowpeeps.com.

sources: justborn.com,jsonline.com