Children take over Frank Charry Park for egg-citing event

Candy and camaraderie were the words of the day on Good Friday at Frank Charry Park, as kids of all ages stormed the field and got a head start on Easter celebrations.

Nine-year-old Jennifer Villeneuve was among hundreds of children who took part in the annual East End Easter Egg Hunt, an event taken over three years ago by the Fort City Kinsmen. The youngster said it’s all about inclusion.

“It’s just fun that everyone gets and egg and everyone’s happy for Easter, because some people don’t have enough money to get stuff for Easter. And I feel that everyone should be able to get stuff because it’s nice,” she said.

Ten-year-old Zachary Wood had one thing on his mind as he lined up, eagerly anticipating the chocolate to come.

“We’ve come looking for eggs,” he said. “You get candy. There’s chocolate, there are prizes over there. We could get some prizes.”

His younger sister Keona had similar thoughts.

“We can get more and more chocolate,” she said.

The hunt, which for decades was run by the Simpson Street BIA, is a great chance to bring a neighbourhood together, said event chairman Brent Carey.

It just keeps growing in popularity, he said.

“It looked like a very good result. There were a lot more kids in the older group than we expected. Usually there are a lot of young kids, but this year there were all age groups. There were plenty of kids out here,” said Carey, who joined forces with the city’s other Kinsmen and Kinette clubs and local businesses to stage the always popular event.

What better way to start a holiday weekend, he added.

“It gets all the kids out and they’re all excited about being here. You see them running around and having a good time. So it doesn’t cost us a lot to do it. It’s just involvement in the community and that’s what Kinsmen is all about.”