By Anita Grace –
The Easter bunny was very generous to Kitchissippi kids this year. He hopped through two local parks and left them filled with treats.
On the Easter weekend, both McKellar Park and Iona Park hosted Easter egg hunts for children. But while the Easter bunny may get the credit, he certainly had some help.
“Parents are really pitching in,” Natasha Wilson said at the McKellar Park hunt on Saturday, April 19. “I love how everyone is involved.” This was the fifth annual Easter egg hunt at this park.
Like the other parents at the McKellar hunt, Wilson had provided 10 treat-filled plastic eggs per child (which for her meant 30 eggs). The eggs were hidden around the park earlier that morning by parents and children who have graduated from “hunters” to “hiders.”
At 10:00 a.m., a crowd of more than 100 eager children gathered near the play structure. Several sported bunny ears and most had a basket or bucket in hand. After the kids shouted a countdown, they spread out around the park in search of colourful eggs.
“It’s such a joy to see all their smiles,” said local mom Eleni Livadiotis as she watched them darting around.
Eight year-old Sarah Downes said the hunt was “awesome,” even though the eggs were “a bit too easy to find.” She quickly filled her basket before realizing that she was over the 10-per-kid limit. She hid the extra ones for another child to find.
On Easter Monday, a similar scene played out in Iona Park: a group of about 50 excited children, a countdown to begin the hunt, and then the mad dash for chocolate.
Carolyn Webb brought her two-year-old son Luke to the Iona hunt. “It’s super exciting to see so many people out,” she said, “and to see the enthusiasm of the kids.”
Families brought so many eggs to Iona Park that latecomers could not find any unused hiding spaces. They began simply tossing their eggs into the open field.
While children were primary participants at both hunts, parents were not forgotten. Starbucks Westboro provided 200 cups of coffee for the McKellar Park event, while at Iona Park parents sipped on Bridgehead brew.
“It’s an ‘egg-cellent’ event,” said Meghan Perry at Iona Park. “Great for kids of all ages.”