Rotary Easter egg hunt draws a crowd

Members of the Red Oak community braved the cold winds to participate in the Rotary Easter Egg hunt Saturday.

Rotary Club member Kara Sherman was one of the many people who assisted in coordinating the event, and shared some details about the prep work it takes to make the event a success year after year.

“We have been hosting the Easter egg hunt for many years. We ask for donations to help with all of the eggs, candy and gifts that are given out to the kids. I believe we do around 2,000 eggs and then tons of additional candy is just thrown out separately from the eggs. The residents of Nishna Productions have been stuffing the eggs for us these past few years along with the many businesses that donate the eggs,” Sherman said.

In addition to filling the eggs, Sherman said there is also a fair amount of prep work getting Fountain Square Park ready the day of the event.

“The Rotarians pick up the eggs at the businesses that are contributing, along with the eggs stuffed at Nishna Productions, and then we start filling up the park with goodies and placing eggs at about 8:30 a.m. the morning of the event,” commented Sherman.

Sherman said she and the other members of the Red Oak Rotary Club are always excited to see the kids’ joyful faces before, during, and after the event.

“It is fabulous to see all of the little ones so excited to fill their baskets, see the Easter bunny and get pictures done. I speak for all of the Rotarians when I tell you what joy it brings each of us to bring our community together for events such as these and the joy it brings to so many children! This year was a little cold, so people did not hang out for very long, but often families come and spend a considerable amount of their morning at Fountain Square Park after the hunt for pictures and fun.”

Sherman said an accurate head count of participants is hard to determine, but she estimated they had roughly 200 kids participate in this year’s event. Sherman added that the weather may have been a factor in a slight downtick in the number of participants.

“It was definitely cold. We were surprised there were that many that showed up, we thought the cold might keep some of them away. This was the coldest that I remember, but at least it wasn’t raining, and we were able to keep the event at Fountain Square Park,” said Sherman.

While this year’s event is officially in the books, Sherman said plans are already underway for the 2019 hunt.

“We in the Rotary will discuss what worked, didn’t work, what we should do different for next year and then once January hits we will start pulling it all together.”

Sherman wanted to express her appreciation to Michelle Engel, who was the main Rotarian in charge of the event, Vince Else who donated all of the bunnies that they gave away as prizes; as well as the Nishna Productions staff members who helped fill the eggs, and the numerous businesses and organizations who donated time and or money to make this year’s event another great success.