Getting ready for an ‘egg’citing time

Local kids will have the chance to search for Easter Eggs to exchange for treats at the seventh annual Easter Egg Hunt Fundraiser April 15.
“Kids love it, the sprint from the start line is probably my favourite part of the event,” said Community Services Office Coordinator Marla Polachek.
New this year, organizers have added a fourth hunt start time to accommodate more kids.
“We’ve added a fourth wave,” said Cathy Burness, Chair of the Human Services Advisory Board which administers the United Way Chestermere funds.
This extra start time has increased the events capacity to a total of 400 kids spread out over the four start times.
Held at the Lakeside Golf Club’s driving range, the Easter Egg Hunt starts with the first wave at 9:15 a.m. with each of the following waves starting 45 minutes after the previous one.
The hunt ends at about noon.
After signing in, kids are brought up to the start line located at the driving range tee boxes. Once the starting buzzer goes, kids sprint into the field to search for plastic Easter eggs.
After all the Easter eggs have been collected kids get to go to the “eggs-change” line to trade the plastic eggs for a variety of treats and other goodies. These can include stickers, activities, and toothbrushes.
“The ultimate prize is that they do get a chocolate bunny at the end,” said Polachek.
The Easter bunny will also be in attendance at the event.
“They always like to see the Easter bunny or if they don’t like to see the Easter Bunny they’re screaming,” laughed Polachek.
Along with providing kids a fun start to their Easter long weekend, the event is raising funds for the United Way. The money raised will be used for projects that promote wellness, income, and education.
“The good thing about this fundraiser is that the proceeds all stay in Chestermere,” said Burness.
Local organizations with projects that meet the criteria will be able to apply for funding grants from the United Way.
Their goal this year is to raise $2000 through the Easter Egg Hunt.
The event costs $6 per child to participate in the Easter Egg Hunt.
Families are asked to pre-register online at www.chestermere.ca/812/13692/Easter-Egg-Hunt-Fundraiser. Burness recommends people register right away as even with the extra start time they have seen a lot of registrations to date and expect the event to fill up.