Children Spring for Eggs Despite Wintry Weather

Ominous skies and chill winds couldn’t stop the stampede of children Saturday morning when the command “Ready, set, egg hunt!” began the fifth annual Eggstravaganza at Grape Arbor Park.

Little searchers, egged on by excited parents, took turns by age group scooping up plastic replicas of the real thing.

They used baskets, backpacks, diaper bags and even daddy’s T-shirt to gather their treasures, hoping to find one of the special golden eggs that could be exchanged for a colorful 8-inch stuffed rabbit.

About 300 children turned out for the two-hour event, which included arts and crafts, a moon bounce and photo opportunities with the big bunny himself.

Scott Huaynate, 2, swapped his plastic eggs for one of the white, paper goody bags each child received, stuffed a candy egg in his cheek and moved on to the rest of the activities. He hopped enthusiastically on the sidelines of the egg toss, watched in fascination while Heart Throb the Clown made him a bunny from white balloons and waved a tired goodbye as he trailed his mom from the park.

Sasha Piergeorge, 6, showed her bag’s contents to parents Jeff and Carole.

“Oh, Hershey Kisses, your favorite,” Carole Piergeorge said.

Sasha had been looking forward to the Eggstravaganza.

“She was so excited about this last night, it was [like] Christmas Eve,” her father said.

Paris Hexon, 9, and her sister Alannah, 8, each found a golden egg, as did their friend, Ashley Stone, 9, who happened to be climbing a tree and found one in a knothole.

Allison Hirshfield, 8, had a neon green wrist-to-elbow cast on her left arm, but it didn’t stop her from hunting for eggs and joining in the toss. Allison’s family started preparing for the holiday before coming to the park, said her mother, Bridget. Brother Aaron, 6, who found one of the coveted gold eggs, had helped set the table for Easter dinner.

Allison shared what she likes most about her family’s Easter Sunday celebration:

“Finding the candy that we’re going to hide,” she said.