The balmy weather lately has felt more like summer than the prelude to spring. But the calendar doesn’t lie, and here it is, time once again for that annual celebration of new beginnings: the Easter egg hunt. The egg is a longtime symbol of new life, fertility and rebirth, of course, but local youngsters will probably overlook all that in favor of collecting some goodie-filled eggs in the company of friends and families.
Easter magic in Highland on Saturday, March 19
The Town of Lloyd events committee will sponsor its annual Easter Magic in the Hamlet event on Saturday, March 19 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. inside the gymnasium at St. Augustine’s, 35 Phillips Avenue in Highland. Admission is free.
Details are slightly mysterious as of press time, but show up at 11 a.m. to hear a story about how to find the Easter Bunny. At 11:30 a.m. there will be games and the opportunity to visit Peter Rabbit’s Potting Shed to take home a seedling, followed by a noon Easter egg hunt. In a twist on the usual age separation for these type of events, all ages will begin the egg hunt at the same time with a limit of ten eggs per child. Look inside the eggs for a note from the Easter Bunny. Eggs with notes can be redeemed for a special prize. More information is available at www.townoflloyd.com; click on “committees” for the Lloyd events committee.
Easter egg hunt at Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz, March 19
The New Paltz youth program will host the 28th annual Easter egg hunt at Historic Huguenot Street in New Paltz this Saturday, March 19 from noon to 3 p.m. The actual egg hunt begins at 1 p.m. (The rain date is the next day; updates will be posted at www.npyp.org.) The event will also offer a bouncy house, balloons, games and face painting, and the Easter Bunny arrives by fire truck, with plenty of opportunities for photo ops.
Five thousand eggs filled with candy and stickers and such will be hidden and prizes will be awarded to those who find the gold and silver eggs. The hunt is free for ages one through 12. Start-off time for the hunt is divided into staggered (non-competing) age groups of ages one to three, four to six, seven to nine and ten to twelve. The tiniest participants can go with their parents, of course.
Egg hunters are encouraged to bring their own Easter baskets, if possible. While there will be some bags available for collecting eggs, if it’s warm out the weather may bring out more people than anticipated. Several hundred kids are expected even if it snows, as it did last year. If the current weather holds, there may be a turnout of as many as 500 to 600 kids.
The event starts at the Dubois Visitor Center. For additional information, call 325-2593 or check npyp.org.
Join the family! 
