The Threat of Inclement Weather Did Not Cancel Saturday’s Free Easter Egg Hunt at Newtown Commons in Stephens City

Stephens City UMC was determined to host the egg hunt, rain or shine.

Wind, rain, and forty degree weather kept attendance down at the Stephens City Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday.

SCUMC Easter Egg Hunt Sign. Courtesy Joe Zollinger.

Approximately 600 people visited the Newtown Commons to enjoy the egg hunts, festival games, and food vendors selling pizza, ice cream and hot chocolate.

Mike Bulley, the Balloon Man, fascinated the children with 300 animal, heart, hat, sword, and bracelet balloons.

Sherando High School volunteers assisted with all facets of the egg hunt festivities. Courtesy Marty Barley.

Stephens City VFR’s Sparky the Fire Dog and the Frederick County Easter Bunny took photos with both adults and children.

Twenty volunteers from Sherando High School assisted with the face painting, constructing the 3D Challenge Maze, as well as supervising festival Games: Corn Hole, Frisbee Toss, Football Toss, Bottle Knock Down, Jr. Corn Hole, and Jr. Ring Toss.

4 to 6 year-olds chase down 1,000 eggs in grassy field. Courtesy Joe Zollinger.

Young child delights in gathering eggs in a grassy field. Courtesy Joe Zollinger.

The three dimensional egg hunt maze madness was the crowd favorite as folks hung around until 2:30 pm to watch the 10-12 year-olds hustle for eggs filled with candy and prizes. The complex 15’ x 20’ three-dimensional Challenge Maze, is constructed with steel fence posts, PVC tubing, rope, colorful string, hula hoops and pool noodles to slow down the young teens in their quest to recover 1,000 eggs.

Field strewn with 4,000 eggs. Courtesy Marty Barley.

Enthusiastic toddlers and young kids hunted for the colored eggs with a zest which none but children understand. Parents and grandparents crowded the roped-off areas and the bright faces and merry laughter of the children made for an enjoyable occasion.

Sparky the Fire Dog making new friends. Courtesy Marty Barley.

The egg hunt is fast becoming one of Stephens City’s most anticipated outdoor events and is a splendid time for bringing families together one week before celebrating Easter Sunday.

Three dimensional egg hunt maze madness for young teens. Courtesy Marty Barley.

A special thank you to The Town of Stephens City which graciously placed our event flyers in their newsletter mailings and made the flyer available to town residents at their office on Locust Street.

The Easter Bunny was available for photo opportunities on the Newtown Commons music stage. Courtesy Marty Barley.

A shout-out to Chief Bill Copp and Stephen City police officers for providing oversight around the Newtown Commons.