Hillside stages third annual Egg Hunt Adventure
Dozens of kids scoop up goodies
The newly renamed Lonnie Cohen Hillside RC held their first event since the new addition to their moniker to honor the late former Director Lonnie Cohen. Cohen must’ve been smiling down on the proceedings because the third Annual Egg Hunt was a raving success.
Originally scheduled for a Saturday, the extravaganza was pushed to a Tuesday night because Mother Nature must not have gotten the memo, since it poured cats and dogs that day. She must’ve been onboard for the Tuesday postponement date because it came down in buckets on both Wednesday and Thursday.
The brainchild of the playground staff and the Hillside Advisory Council, the event has grown in popularity each year since its inception. In preparation, students from the Academies at Roxborough High had worked tirelessly to put together approximately 2,000 plastic eggs containing not only yummies, but also coupon vouchers that could be redeemed for toys and gadgets following the egg hunt.
Once again, the participants were broken down into three age groups not only to ensure equal opportunity for all the youngsters, but to accommodate the large number of egg hunters. Families with tots under tree were ushered into the gymnasium, with the three-to-fives on the playing field and the six-totens navigating Turtle Park (below the playground on Fountain St.). The eggs had been scattered by staff Brielle Harvey, Sean McCann, and Gianna Petrucci earlier in the afternoon.
As Hillside Director Brielle Harvey gave last minute instructions, dozens of youngsters anxiously awaited the countdown at the starting area with engines revving in neutral. Once, the go ahead was given, kids went tearing out in search of their encased fortunes like it was the running of the bulls.
There were enough eggs to ensure that each young one could get a sizable helping of the goodies and enough vouchers scattered to almost guarantee that each child could snare a toy or two at the conclusion.
When all the eggs had been collected, it was time for personal inventories as the children, with huge smiles on their adorable faces, put their math skills to use to tally their level of success. Discarded eggs were returned to a bin to recycle for next year’s affair, which promises to be even more popular if the number’s trend continues.