Eggs galore
BUTLER TWP — Jace and Jaxon Woodard have participated in Easter egg hunts before, but the one on Sunday, April 2, at Preston Park my be the first one they will have memories of.
The 3-year-old twins from Butler were just two out of hundreds of children who took part in the hunt Sunday at the Butler County Chamber of Commerce event, where more than 6,000 eggs were scattered for children to scoop up and crack open.
The twins’ mom, Kasey Snyder, of Butler, said the community event appealed to her family.
“It’s local, and we love the park, so we wanted to come over,” Snyder said.
While there were 6,000 eggs total divided among the four age groups Sunday, each hunt was over within minutes because of the sheer number and enthusiasm of the children in attendance.
Jordan Grady, president of the Butler County Chamber of Commerce, said the event was widely attended last year, but the attendance Sunday seemed to dwarf its ranks.
“We must have done a good job with it last year, because I didn’t expect this at all,” he said. “We’re thrilled with this turnout.”
Grady said the hunt was a collaboration among several groups, including the chamber, Butler Township, the Center for Community Resources and the Walmart in Butler Township, in addition to other event sponsors. He said part of the Chamber of Commerce’s goal is to promote community engagement, which is why the organization plans the Easter Egg Hunt, trick-or-treat events and Christmas activities.
“In 2020 with the onset of the pandemic, the organization made the decision to make the community a part of its mission,” Grady said. “These things are very important for us to do.”
The hunt started at 1 p.m. with separate but simultaneous egg hunts for children ages 1 to 3 and 4 to 5. The hunts for ages 6 to 7 and 8 to 10 took started at 3 p.m. Grady said among the thousands of eggs for each group were several golden eggs, which netted their finders an additional prize when showed to the organizers.
Throughout the duration of the event, families could meet the Easter Bunny and listen to music. The line to meet the Easter Bunny stretched from the pavilion all the way into the parking lot after the egg hunt.
Nate Hinterberger, of Meridian, said his 2-year-old daughter, Sutton Hinterberger, was most excited to meet the Easter Bunny.
“She has done a few; this is our second year coming out to this one,” Hinterberger said. “She is excited. She has been talking about meeting the Easter Bunny all day.”
