Blakely Stott, 2, of Zelienople holds a piece of candy in one hand and her Easter basket in the other as she stands with her little brother, Beau, following an Easter egg hunt in the Zelienople Community Park on Saturday, March 30. Irina Bucur/Butler Eagle
ZELIENOPLE — With the sound of a horn, the hunt for colorful Easter eggs was afoot at 11 a.m. sharp Saturday, March 30.
The determination of children, who eagerly searched the grasses for a glimpse of candy or a plastic egg, was not thwarted by their bulky rain boots, coats, a little mud or the unseasonable chill that accompanied the on-and-off drizzle of rain.
The annual event was hosted by the Zelienople Lions Club at the community park. By noon, the Easter Bunny had packed up, but children continued their revelry in the nearby playground, with their parents left carrying the Easter baskets and bags, umbrellas and coats.
Madison Larson, a senior in the Seneca Valley School District who helped organize the event with volunteers from her school’s National Honor Society chapter, said neither rain nor wind deterred children from participating in the event.
She did say the weather presented some challenges in setting up the egg hunt.
“When the wind was blowing, that was hard,” she said. “Once it started raining, that really wasn’t the best.”
Despite the rain, Madison described a large turnout. Parents came prepared with ponchos, she said.
“They were dedicated,” she said.
Following the egg hunt, Blakely Stott, 2, of Zelienople, was joined in the playground by her mother Kaitlyn and 11-month-old brother, Beau.
“We always do the Easter service at church and just get together with family, but we like the Easter egg hunts with the kids,” Kaitlyn Stott said.
The Stotts recently moved to Zelienople from Gibsonia. She said she is grateful such events as the Easter egg hunt are available to the community.
“(Zelienople) is really sweet,” she said. “It’s just like a small town, and there’s always something to do.”
Blakely, who will soon turn 3, said her favorite part of the event was picking up the eggs from their hiding spots. She had opened up all of them, she said with a smile, as she held out a white basket decorated with a white bunny tail. Out of the candy found inside the eggs, she said her favorites were gummies.
Wren Reisinger, 5, of Harmony, said she found two eggs but had not yet opened them. Wren said she enjoys playing outside this time of year. The egg hunt is her favorite part about Easter.
Wren Reisinger, 5, of Harmony holds one of the two Easter eggs she collected at the annual Zelienople Easter egg hunt on Saturday, March 30. Irina Bucur/Butler Eagle
