The Spring Easter egg hunt is returning to Downtown Jacksonville this month, however, the hunt is of a different nature this time around.
Jacksonville Main Street announced the return of the Easter Egg Hunt today. Executive Director Judy Tighe says the hunt has changed a bit from its original event concept.
She says and as much as Main Street wanted to hold a more traditional egg hunt, they feel right now it’s still safer to do a drive-through event.
“The Easter Bunny is going to come and will be set up on the south side of the square. We do have a limited number of baskets, so as long as we have baskets, people can start slowly driving through on the inside lane. And for every kid that is in the vehicle, the bunny is going to a basket.
In those baskets, besides the usual candy little prize kind of things, but some of them are going to have a golden egg. In the golden egg is going to be a bigger prize. So if you look through the basket and find a golden egg, pull over somewhere in the vicinity of the south side of the square and claim your prize.”
Tighe says Main Street has a nice list of Golden Egg prizes ranging from stuffed animal book kits to ride-on toys and even a bike.
Tighe says a little over a year ago, Main Street held its annual meeting and awards dinner in the last week of February, and that is the last event Main Street was able to put on. She says they are hopeful this year looks less like 2020.
“Melissa our Event Coordinator spent all last year planning events, un-planning events, rescheduling events then un-scheduling them. So we do have a full lineup of things just like we normally would have had to work on planning over the winter. We just can’t announce anything just yet.
We still have to kinda wait and see. There might be a little shuffling around of dates if needed. So we are sitting tight with our fingers crossed and hoping everyone stays safe and our numbers look good. In the meantime, we have just been really really trying to support all of our small businesses downtown but also throughout the community. We’re just really encouraging shopping local. It’s amazing when you can’t do things, the things you appreciate being able to do.”
The Drive Through Easter Egg Hunt will be held on Saturday, March 27th beginning at 10:00 am. Children aged 12 and under are able to receive a basket from the Easter Bunny, who will be stationed on the south interior side of Central Park Plaza.
Attendees are asked to stay in their vehicle so the Easter Bunny can safely hand a basket through the window to all children in the vehicle when you pull up for your turn.
For more information, call Judy Tighe or Melissa Zoerner at 217-245-6884