Easter is Sunday April 8 but County Residents can celebrate early with several Easter Egg Hunts this weekend.
Windsor’s annual Easter Egg Hunt will be held on Saturday, April 7 at Windsor High School baseball field (adjacent to the parking lot). Kiwanis members have spent weeks filling more than 8,000 eggs that will be distributed among four zones organized by age. In addition to candy, up to 75 eggs will contain prize tickets redeemable for different kinds of toys at the prize station.
“We always have between 50 and 75 tickets in some of the eggs,” said organizer Karen Getz. “It’s anything from Easter stuffed animals to games, dolls we even have a few little bicycles.”
She said kids pick the field clean in a matter of minutes so parents need to allow enough time to park their cars and walk to the field. “Once we blow the horn, it’s over in about five minutes,” she said. “That’s why we stress that people need to get there before 10 o’clock.”
After the hunt, Windsorites can head Downtown for the Hop to Shop. The Easter Bunny will be visiting participating businesses from noon to 5 p.m. and stores will have Easter eggs for shoppers containing prizes.
In Healdsburg, the hunt starts at 9 a.m. at HES Fitch Mountain Campus. Longtime organizer Kent Mitchell said punctuality is also important for the Healdsburg event. “We stress that parents be on time because it starts at 9 a.m. sharp,” he said. “It’s always a shame to see parents come in late and the kids feel left out.”
Parents are also strongly encouraged to bring their cameras to the hunt because Mitchell said the Easter Bunny is known attend the Healdsburg event and he’s always willing to pose for photos with participants.
Mitchell said the Healdsburg hunt will be divided into age groups for the enjoyment and safety of all. “We separate the egg hunting kids by age group so the big kids don’t trample the little kids and we even separate a section for the toddlers so it’s safe and sane.”
Every child at the Healdsburg event receives a raffle ticket for one of three bicycles donated by Spoke Folk. “That’s a tradition that started about ten years ago,” he said. “The whole point of that is to remind kids that we want them to be outside and we want them to be healthy.”
West County residents have several opportunities to get in on the fun. The Monte Rio Spring Celebration will be held on April 7 from noon to 2 p.m. at the Monte Rio Community Center in Koret Park.
Organizers said residents can bring their own basket and participate in games, prizes, a raffle and the famous bridge egg toss. Raw eggs will be placed inside the home-made devices and then dropped from the bridge to a hopefully safe landing below.
An appearance by the Easter Bunny and a bake sale round out the event that acts as a fundraiser for the Monte Rio Elementary School. Visit Friendsofmonterio.org for more information.
Organizers said there are many volunteer opportunities for this event and anyone interested can contact Mary Black at
ru*****************@gm***.com
or 865-9230. To donate prizes for the raffle please contact Peter Andrews at
tu**********@sb*******.net
.
The 32nd Annual Sebastopol Kiwanis Club Easter Egg Hunt is scheduled for Saturday, April 7 at Ives Park.
Children of all ages are invited to hunt for eggs. Parents are encouraged to bring an Easter Basket to hold eggs and a camera to take a photo with the Easter Bunny. Eggs will be specially prepared by Patti Stack of Capers and Co. in Sebastopol. The Easter Bunny will also bring plenty of chocolate and marshmallow eggs too.
Organizers said the fun begins at 10 a.m. sharp, rain or shine.
EGG HUNTS
Windsor
Saturday, April 7 at 10 a.m.
Windsor High School Baseball Field
Healdsburg
Saturday, April 7 at 9 a.m.
HES Fitch Mountain Campus
Sebastopol
Saturday April 7 at 10 a.m.
Ives Park
Monte Rio
Saturday April 7 at noon
Monte Rio Community Center
