The annual Easter Egg Hunt in Huntington
Beach's Central Park is sponsored the Kiwanis, and City of Huntington
Beach Parks and Recreation Department. The event is free, and offers fun
for youngsters.
Parents have to contain
their pride and eagerness to help their kids get some prize candy in the
annual Huntington Beach Easter Egg Hunt in Central Park. Held in the
huge grassy lawns of park on the west side of Golden West Street next to
Lake Huntington, the attendance is huge, with an estimated 5,000 people
attending. Sponsored by the Kiwanis Club Huntington Beach, the City of
HB promotes the event, distributing information in the Sands event
guide. Other beach cities along the California coast hosting
Easter Hunts include Encinitas,
where Easter Eggs are hidden in the grass.
Parents dress their kids
in cute attire such as derbies for the boys, and Easter bonnets or sun
hats for the girls. Face painting, food booths and other simple
pleasures are offered at this fun event that allows children to
run and grab candy in wrappers sprinkled on the lawns of the park, where
real bunnies live. During the event, the rabbits reportedly hide, clear
of the fierce competition to run and grab the prize. Bringing baskets,
buckets and bags, children aged 0 to 8 are invited to come and
participate in this annual event that's been around for decades.
Many years, Huntington
Beach's beauty queens selected in a competition in February get one of
their first opportunities to get out and meet the public. Showing up
looking very pretty, the young ladies meet and greet children who are
most interested in the hunt but are entertained by the young women while
they wait.
What's so special about
this event is the community spirit that goes into purchasing several
thousand pounds of candy, the volunteerism of the Kiwanis, the
participation of City members who distribute information and help the
event go smoothly, and the opportunity for kids ranging from tourists to
local residents to enjoy the outdoors, and hunt for candy in the roped
arena where they are free to roam under the guarded watch of their
parents.
Volunteer Chris MacDonald
of Huntington Beach helped at a recent event and supplied the photos on
our web site. MacDonald said there were thousands of people attending
and the work was strenuous, with the goal to quickly spread big, heavy
bags of candy while eager children waited, held only by a thin plastic
flag rope. "It was a wonderful experience watching the excitement of the
little kids, but a toss up of who was more excited, the parents or the
kids," he said.
