By Khalida Sarwari
Face painting and old-fashioned games like the Hokey Pokey and three-legged sacks races were all the rage at Wildwood Park last weekend, but the main event last Saturday was the Independent Order of Odd Fellows’ fifth annual Easter Egg Hunt.
Nearly 150 people showed up to the March 30 event and some had such a great time they didn’t want to leave even after it was over, said Kim Palmos-Weikel, chairwoman of the event and a member of Odd Fellows.
“Everyone looked like they were having a wonderful time,”Palmos-Weikel said. “And the bunny was really popular.”
There were plenty of activities to keep young and old alike busy, from face painting to hula hoops, as well as a storytime with Saratoga’s community librarian, Gayathri Kanth, who read stories about Easter and spring to the little ones. A DJ spun tunes and a balloon twister handed out balloons. Kids lined up to take photos with the Easter Bunny.
The egg hunt didn’t last longer than five minutes, said Palmos-Weikel. Youth from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints went around helping the children find the 3,000 eggs hidden all over the park.
The best part, Palmos-Weikel said, was seeing and hearing the diversity of the community. She counted hearing five different languages being spoken.
“There were people speaking French, Swedish, some Indian languages,” she said. “It was neat to see different cultures get together and do this.”
As successful an event as it was, there are just a few things organizers would like to do differently next year. Palmos-Weikel noted that there will be two additional bunnies and bunny helpers so that children get an opportunity to take photos with them sooner, and organizers plan to advertise more at schools to get the word out about the event and bring in a bigger crowd.
“We’ll go personally to schools,” she said.
The egg hunt is a service project for the community, Palmos-Weikel said. The organization is a Saratoga-based nonprofit that focuses on charity work, especially helping the sick, elderly and poor and educating youth.
