Mary Peepins, an entrant in the 2009 Peeps Diorama Contest. (Photo by Kerrin Nishimurra)

Mary Peepins, an entrant in the 2009 Peeps Diorama Contest. (Photo by Kerrin Nishimurra)

Washington Post columnist Petula Dvorak fretted about the future of the White House Easter Egg Roll. “Look out, Easter Bunny,” she wrote. “You may be next.”

But what if the calls were coming from inside the house?

The Post’s own beloved Easter tradition—the Peeps Diorama Contest—is seemingly hanging up its marshmallow hat.

For a decade, people submitted dioramas depicting current events and moments in history, with the catch that all depicted characters must be Peeps, the marshmallow candies that pop up in grocery aisles every spring. “Melt, mold and manipulate those chicks and bunnies to bring your vision to life,” the 2016 contest rules said.

The winner in 2016 created Donald Trump’s brain as a control center in the Pixar film Inside Out, earning its creators a $500 American Express gift card. Other crowned champs include The Tomb of King Peepankhamun, OccuPeep D.C., and a Peep-ified version of the Chilean mine rescue.

But after 10 years of delight, rumors have been swirling that the Post is kicking the contest to the curb.

Post reporter Dan Zak confirmed the worst on Twitter today.

But when inquired why the contest was axed, Zak responded, “That is above my pay grade.”

The Post released an editor’s note Tuesday afternoon to weigh in. “Hard journalism this was not, but for us the contest offered its own sweet rewards. As fewer submissions began to come in, though, echoing the decline in readership of this feature, we knew that it was time to let bunnies be free again, and we have ended the Peeps contest run,” the note from Washington Post Magazine Deputy Editor David Rowell reads.

It adds that the Post Hunt is also ending this year, for lack of sponsorship.

I guess you can take solace in knowing there’ll be more marshmallows in the aisle for the rest of us, if a little less whimsy.

But could there be a savior this Easter season? Washington City Paper’s editor in chief has thrown down the gauntlet for continuing the tradition.

Updated with comment from the Washington Post Magazine.

Filed Under: peeps, peeps diorama contest, washington post,