Easter Egg Round-Up held at City Park

By PAMELA GRANT

Cove Leader-Press

At City Park on Saturday morning, delighted children of all ages scrambled to collect as many colorful plastic eggs as they could while hoping that one of those eggs would contain a special ticket, awarding them an entire Easter basket full of goodies.

Copperas Cove Parks & Recreation hosted the 2017 Easter Egg Round-Up, which was divided into four categories. Children 0-3 had their hunt first on Field #1, children 4-6 collected on Field #2, and children 7-10 gathered their eggs on Field #3. This year, Parks & Recreation held its first Superhero Easter Egg Hunt for children 2-18 with physical and/or intellectual disabilities. 

In addition to the egg hunts, children could also have their picture taken for free with the Easter Bunny.

“This year was our second year with the format with the baseball fields,” said Nic Cantrell, Recreation Superintendent, who helped organize and run the event. “It’s really good because it’s safe and keeps the kids contained.”

Cantrell said that they had 15,000 Easter eggs to give away this year. Each plastic egg contained small candies like Tootsie Rolls and Sweet Tarts. There were two special eggs containing tickets which awarded the finder a grand prize in each age group. 

Cantrell estimated that about 600 kids participated in the event.

“We always have a great time,” said Kimberly Cantrell, who brought her children Aubrey (8) and Jaxon (3). “There’s so many people. I think they really get the community involved.”

“I liked it. I like that they did it a week early. There’s a lot of other stuff going on the day before Easter,” said Brianna Brejcha. 

Mark and Brianna Brejcha brought their children Ethan (5) and Madelyn (3) to the egg hunt. Next Saturday is Ethan’s birthday, and having the egg hunt early will allow them to focus on his birthday next week without conflicting with their Easter celebration.

This year was the city’s first year holding a Superhero Easter Egg Hunt. The city has been working to be more inclusive, and many were appreciative of the additional category.

“I think it’s a great opportunity for them. They don’t get a lot of opportunities to actually participate in events like this without being overrun by the other kids,” said Demetrius Howard about the superhero egg hunt. Demetrius and Dena Howard brought their daughter, Dominique (8), to participate in the egg hunt. He said he thought it was wonderful that his daughter found the special ticket and won a large Easter basket. He also expressed appreciation for the city’s other adaptive programs. His daughter recently participated in their adaptive soccer program. Howard said that he’s grateful that the city offers as many programs as they do and appreciates the opportunities that such programs present for his daughter.