by Sylene Argent
Around 1500 youths lined the soccer fields at the Essex Centre Sports Complex on Saturday with a bag or basket in tow, ready to collect as many eggs as they could on the sound of the whistle during Essex Gospel Community Church’s 20th annual Community Easter Egg Hunt.
The festive event is held annually as a way for the community to celebrate Easter and get excited for a visit from the Easter Bunny.
“We count it a privilege to provide the adults and children in the Town of Essex the opportunity to join together as a community and share in a fun family Easter tradition,” Jessica-Lynn DeMoor, Family Ministries Pastor at Essex Gospel Community Church, said. “Our church family looks forward to this event, as it gives us the opportunity for our congregation to come together and give back to the community. We are so proud of the many community partners, who join with us to provide this free event for the children.”
Around 100 volunteers helped organize the event, from connecting with sponsors, stuffing 28,000 eggs with either a chocolate or a voucher that could be exchanged for a special prize, scattering the eggs throughout the soccer fields, and manning the barbeque after the egg hunt.
For fairness, Essex Gospel Community Church splits the soccer fields into sections to allow youths to gather the Easter Eggs against others their own age. All participants under three-years-of-age were given a special prize.
While enjoying a free barbeque lunch for youths under the age of 12, a raffle took place, with thanks to the many local businesses who donated gift cards or prizes for the event.
“It is a great event for families,” DeMoor added. “We couldn’t do it without our sponsors.”