Easter is on its way, and this year the Mount Vernon and Lisbon communities will be hosting two Easter egg dashes.
The Mount Vernon dash begins 10 a.m. Saturday, April 16, at Mount Vernon High School track (south of Washington Elementary school).
After last year’s distanced Easter Egg hunt, this year’s hunt will be offered in person.
More than 5,000 individually filled plastic eggs, with candy and prizes will be hidden.
“This event seems to get bigger each year,” said Matt Siders, chair of the Easter Egg Dash Committee. “We are once again partnering with the Mount Vernon Community School District to use the high school track, and with Hallmark Care Center whose residents will stuff hundreds of eggs for the Annual Easter Egg Dash. And now, with our partnership with the Mount Vernon Volunteer Firefighters Association, we are able to accommodate even more children and families.”
There will also be games available for children 8 and up to play for prizes.
The Easter Egg hunt is split into age categories of infant to 3-year-olds, 4 to 5-year-olds, and 6 to 7-year-olds.
In case of rainy weather, the event will be relocated to the Mount Vernon Middle School gymnasium. Hunts begin at 10 a.m. and proceed through the different age groups.
Also returning Saturday morning is the Mount Vernon Fireman’s Breakfast at the Mount Vernon Fire Station. Menu will include pancakes, eggs, sausage, and choices of beverages including milk, juice and water. Cost is $4 for children and $6 for adults.
The egg dashes are a collaboration between Cherry Ridge Independent and Assisted Living, the City of Mount Vernon Parks and Rec, the City of Lisbon Parks and Rec, Hallmark Care Center, the Lisbon Fire Department, the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Charitable Development Group (CCDG), the Mount Vernon Volunteer Firefighter’s Association (MVVFA), and the Rehabilitation Center of Lisbon.
This year, the Lisbon community will be holding it’s own Easter Egg hunt in Lisbon City Park beginning at 11:30 a.m.
“We’ve had so many families reach out to the parks and recreation commission or members of our board, that we decided this year to work at bringing an Easter Egg hunt back to Lisbon,” said Drayton Kamberling, Lisbon parks and recreation director. “
Families are encouraged to bring three decorated hard-boiled eggs with their child’s name and age marked on them to Lisbon City Hall Saturday, April 16, from 9 to 10:30 a.m.
“Our board will then hide those eggs throughout the park, as well as several plastic eggs,” Kamberling said. “Families will be hunting for their three decorated hard-boiled eggs, and the first people who bring back two or three of their hidden eggs will get a bigger Easter basket prize.”
The Easter egg hunt will start at 11:30 a.m. in Lisbon. There are three age groups for Lisbon – infants to 4-year-olds, 5-to-8-year-olds, and 9-year-olds and older.
There will also be goodie bags distributed to all attendees at Lisbon’s Easter egg hunt.
Kamberling has been working with the Mount Vernon-Lisbon Community Development Group for this event as well, with director Joe Jennison providing some prizes, as well as providing travel of the Easter Bunny from Mount Vernon to the Lisbon community.
“We decided on the 11:30 a.m. start time to not conflict with Mount Vernon’s Easter Egg dash,” Kamberling said. “We don’t want to take anything away from Mount Vernon, we just want to offer our own Egg hunt as we’ve done years in the past.”
Questions can be directed to event Mount Vernon event Chair Matt Siders at [email protected]; Lisbon event Chair Drayton Kamberling at [email protected]; or to MVVFA organizer Mehrdad Zarifkar at [email protected]
The Mount Vernon firemens breakfast will be serving Saturday, April 16, from 6 a.m. to noon at the Mount Vernon Fire Station.