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Kids go on the hunt for eggs
By ELISE McKEOWN SKOLNICK
YOUNGSTOWN
Gray skies and chilly temperatures didn’t stop families from filling the Wick Recreation Area in Mill Creek MetroParks for the annual Eggstravaganza.
Even the Easter Bunny braved the cold. He waved to children and posed for pictures.
Wearing warm coats and hats, some with paper bunny ears on top, kids age 2 to 10 lined the candy- and plastic egg-studded areas, waiting for the shout of “Go!”
They clutched bags, plastic buckets and baskets to collect the loot.
Joey Beshara, 4, attended the event for the first time but said he had participated in an egg hunt at school.
He planned to run into the egg and candy area with his plastic bag when the hunt started.
“I think I will get 10 [eggs],” he said.
He also liked the idea of picking up some of the candy, saying licorice is his favorite.
“We thought it would be fun to come out here,” said family friend, Jennifer Irving, of Youngstown. “This is our first time here. I think it’s excellent. I love it. It’s cold, but you know what? It’s worth it because the kids are going to have some fun.”
Joey’s sister, Raven Fox, and Irving’s daughter, Trinity Wilbois, both 7, attended with the pair.
“When I get over there, I’m going to run to that blue bunny and try to get as many eggs as I can,” Raven said.
Trinity didn’t have a plan of attack. She just wanted to get some of everything.
Items to collect included candy, inflatable bunnies, plastic eggs filled with treats and plastic eggs with numbers inside that indicated a special prize.
Aubree Foreman, 5, posed for a picture with the Easter Bunny.
“I was a little scared,” she said.
But, she discovered, “he was pretty cool.”
Aubree, her brother, Colyn, 8, and friend, Taylor McCartney, 7, all of Youngs- town, collected quite a bit of candy. Aubree was the only one of the three to find an egg with a number inside. Her special prize was a bag of Skittles and a ball and paddle game.
Colyn said he liked the “part where you run around finding the candy.”
Taylor found some Tootsie Rolls, her favorite candy.
Adults weren’t allowed to participate in the hunt, but they weren’t left out of the Eggstravaganza.
After the hunt, a raw-egg toss took place. The victors were Keith Romain and his son, Brennan, 8, of Liberty.
The pair came in fourth-place last year.
Brennan has “been playing baseball since he was about 5 years old,” Keith said. “He’s got the toss down.”
The family attends the event every year.
“I think it’s really fun because you get to come down and you can do an Easter egg hunt and play a game,” Brennan said.
They won a large bag of M&Ms.
“It was a lot of fun,” Keith said. “He looks forward to it every year. I love it. It’s a great thing for the community.”