JORDAN and AURELIUS -What would the Easter season be without an Easter egg hunt?
Two of the many hunts taking place on Saturday were at St. Patrick's Church in Jordan and at the Fingerlakes Mall in Aurelius.
St. Patrick's has been holding Easter egg hunts for more than 15 years. Carol Smart, egg hunt organizer, said that 400 plastic eggs were scattered in plain view, and about 30 children came hunting for them.
“The plastic eggs are filled with candy, and there is a special egg with a prize for the winner,” Smart said.
The hunt is organized into three different sections: ages infant to 4; 5 to 7; and 8 and older. Each section has its own “special egg.”
“Good morning, boys and girls,” the Rev. John DeLorenzo, pastor of St. Patrick's, said. “Are you ready?”
“Yes!” the children shouted.
Among the children there were Madison and Megan Hatt, 8 and 6, with their mom, Terry, all of Jordan, and their cousins from Auburn, Cierra Leader, 9, Mitch and Mason Vitale, 2 and 1, and Abigail Milton, 1. Their grandmother, Mary Jane Milton, is a parishioner.
“I've got 13 grandchildren and two on the way,” Mary Jane said.
Marcus Lockhart, 7, was there with his mom, Denise Ware, of Elbridge, as was Alexis Salisbury, 3, with her mom Jennie Milks of Jordan.
Amanda and Hailey Brown, 2 were their with their mom and dad, Nancy and Brian Brown, who were bringing their children to the event for the first time.
Samantha and Hannah Snyder, 6 and 3, Brianna and Brayton Staring, 9 and 3, and Isabella Sauro, 6 months, were all there, too.
Jacob and Carolyn La Prairie, of Naples, were there with their dad, Tom, and their grandfather, Thomas.
A tall, white Easter bunny gathered the children outside in the parking lot and promptly signaled the hunt to begin at 9 a.m.
Despite the drizzle and a little mud, the children were eager to find the eggs and put them in their baskets.
If they forgot a basket, the church supplied containers.
Once the children gathered their eggs, they emptied the contents into containers. The plastic eggs were returned to the church. Besides candy, the lucky winners in each group found the special paper and went to Smart to retrieve their prizes.
Prize winners Saturday morning were Carolyn LaPrairie, of Naples, Chloe Leader, 6, of Auburn, and Emily Valentino, 7, of Camillus.
After the hunt, many went to the church basement for a breakfast of pancakes, sausage, and coffee, milk or juice. A bake sale was also held.
While participants generally are church members, anyone can participate in the hunt.
The Fingerlakes Mall had its inaugural Easter egg hunt at 11 a.m. Tracy Murphy, events manager for the mall, said 120 children, ages 6 and younger, participated.
“We would have had more than 200,” Murphy said, “but because of fire codes and the enclosed space, we had to turn some away. Next year we may have to do a couple of separate ones,” she said.
At 10:45 a line of parents and children stretched out into the mall as everyone waited for the Easter bunny to arrive and open the gate to thousands of eggs.
After the Easter Bunny greeted the children, they got ready to hit the turf.
The eggs all had something different in them: tokens from Fun and Games, golf tickets, candy, tattoos, and stickers. Six eggs had papers saying, “Grand Prize Winner.”
These winners went to the customer service counter to pick up their prizes, which could be gift certificates from JCPenny, KayBee Toys, or Mall gift cards. Each was worth $25 or more.
Balloons, eggs filled with candy and prizes, candy and toys were scattered in full view of the children, with a rainbow of streamers hanging from the ceiling.
Merrick Macyczko and Mac-Kenzie Haff were hustling in with their aunt, Whitney West and her son, Lucas, 2.
Kaydn Blaisdell, 22 months, was hunting for eggs with her dad, Jeff, and her grandmother, Judith LaLonde.
Chloe Mack, 2, also seemed happy with her balloon as her grandparents, Jennifer and Jim from Weedsport looked on.
The event ended at 11:30. Many of the little ones needed their parents help to gather the goodies.
Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net
St. Patrick's has been holding Easter egg hunts for more than 15 years. Carol Smart, egg hunt organizer, said that 400 plastic eggs were scattered in plain view, and about 30 children came hunting for them.
“The plastic eggs are filled with candy, and there is a special egg with a prize for the winner,” Smart said.
The hunt is organized into three different sections: ages infant to 4; 5 to 7; and 8 and older. Each section has its own “special egg.”
“Good morning, boys and girls,” the Rev. John DeLorenzo, pastor of St. Patrick's, said. “Are you ready?”
“Yes!” the children shouted.
Among the children there were Madison and Megan Hatt, 8 and 6, with their mom, Terry, all of Jordan, and their cousins from Auburn, Cierra Leader, 9, Mitch and Mason Vitale, 2 and 1, and Abigail Milton, 1. Their grandmother, Mary Jane Milton, is a parishioner.
“I've got 13 grandchildren and two on the way,” Mary Jane said.
Marcus Lockhart, 7, was there with his mom, Denise Ware, of Elbridge, as was Alexis Salisbury, 3, with her mom Jennie Milks of Jordan.
Amanda and Hailey Brown, 2 were their with their mom and dad, Nancy and Brian Brown, who were bringing their children to the event for the first time.
Samantha and Hannah Snyder, 6 and 3, Brianna and Brayton Staring, 9 and 3, and Isabella Sauro, 6 months, were all there, too.
Jacob and Carolyn La Prairie, of Naples, were there with their dad, Tom, and their grandfather, Thomas.
A tall, white Easter bunny gathered the children outside in the parking lot and promptly signaled the hunt to begin at 9 a.m.
Despite the drizzle and a little mud, the children were eager to find the eggs and put them in their baskets.
If they forgot a basket, the church supplied containers.
Once the children gathered their eggs, they emptied the contents into containers. The plastic eggs were returned to the church. Besides candy, the lucky winners in each group found the special paper and went to Smart to retrieve their prizes.
Prize winners Saturday morning were Carolyn LaPrairie, of Naples, Chloe Leader, 6, of Auburn, and Emily Valentino, 7, of Camillus.
After the hunt, many went to the church basement for a breakfast of pancakes, sausage, and coffee, milk or juice. A bake sale was also held.
While participants generally are church members, anyone can participate in the hunt.
The Fingerlakes Mall had its inaugural Easter egg hunt at 11 a.m. Tracy Murphy, events manager for the mall, said 120 children, ages 6 and younger, participated.
“We would have had more than 200,” Murphy said, “but because of fire codes and the enclosed space, we had to turn some away. Next year we may have to do a couple of separate ones,” she said.
At 10:45 a line of parents and children stretched out into the mall as everyone waited for the Easter bunny to arrive and open the gate to thousands of eggs.
After the Easter Bunny greeted the children, they got ready to hit the turf.
The eggs all had something different in them: tokens from Fun and Games, golf tickets, candy, tattoos, and stickers. Six eggs had papers saying, “Grand Prize Winner.”
These winners went to the customer service counter to pick up their prizes, which could be gift certificates from JCPenny, KayBee Toys, or Mall gift cards. Each was worth $25 or more.
Balloons, eggs filled with candy and prizes, candy and toys were scattered in full view of the children, with a rainbow of streamers hanging from the ceiling.
Merrick Macyczko and Mac-Kenzie Haff were hustling in with their aunt, Whitney West and her son, Lucas, 2.
Kaydn Blaisdell, 22 months, was hunting for eggs with her dad, Jeff, and her grandmother, Judith LaLonde.
Chloe Mack, 2, also seemed happy with her balloon as her grandparents, Jennifer and Jim from Weedsport looked on.
The event ended at 11:30. Many of the little ones needed their parents help to gather the goodies.
Staff writer Kathleen Barran can be reached at 253-5311 ext 238 or kathleen.barran@lee.net
Citizen
Hot Jobs
New! Off the Menu
The Citizens' Say
Post your comment - click hereThere are No comments posted.