The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Another egg-cellent year for kids
Hundreds of kids keep candy-rich tradition alive on Chardon’s square
Despite having to dodge more than a few Saturday-morning rain drops, people packed the square in Downtown Chardon for the community’s annual Easter egg hunt April 15, thanks to a trio of nonprofit organizations, a number of local businesses and the city itself.
A longtime tradition in Chardon, in one form or another, the family-friendly community event has long been a cherished event among the area’s residents.
“When I think about Historical Chardon Square — the addition of the Heritage House, the historical side of the square and all the great, family-friendly community events that happen here — this (Easter egg hunt) really is City-of-Chardon community involvement at its finest,” said Jonathan Schneider, a local banker who is the Chardon Area Chamber of Commerce’s 2017 president. “I mean, I grew up in Chardon and I remember coming to this, in one form or another, when I was a kid and it’s been going on for as long as I can remember.”
Schneider said this year about
200 children participated, grabbing as many of the over 3,000 pieces of candy the Easter Bunny hid beneath three big patches of straw, organized by age group, that were situated south of the gazebo.
Tucked among the standard, candy-filled eggs in each straw patch was one golden egg containing a gold coin and a slip of paper explaining the find. With these uncommon eggs, the lucky recipients were treated to special Easter baskets jam-packed with goodies. Each child also got a raffle ticket for a chance to win one of five additional special prize baskets.
As Peter Cottontail, himself, worked the crowd, and Schneider reviewed the hunt’s rules over the loudspeaker, one could have cut the excitement in the air with a knife. Kids organized in three age groups — three and under, 4-5 and 6-8 — were all pawing at the ground to get at that candy and proud parents and loved ones clicked off snapshots, gave candy-gathering advice and offered pep talks.
At 11 a.m. Schneider gave the go-ahead and, in a feverish, seasonally hued blur, all 212 candy crazed participants charged the straw and got to work digging after the goods.
In about 90 seconds it was all over. As the straw began to settle, groups of families huddled around each other to review their respective egg hunters’ scores.
The Dufour girls — 8-year-old Capri and 4-year-old Giada — took the opportunity after the hunt to pose with the big bunny; and their mom, dad and grandmother each shared their take on the Easter weekend event.
“It’s a tradition,” said Jason Dufour, the girls’ father. Their mom agreed. “It’s part of living in Chardon. It’s what we do,” Amy Dufour said.
The girls’ grandmother — North Kingsville resident Betty Capitena — said the family really enjoys all the free, family friendly events like this one which Chardon hosts on the square.
“Chardon makes a party out of everything — and a good party, too,” Capitena said. “I mean, you look around and all you see is nice people. There sure is a lot of civic mindedness in this town.”
She said that means a lot to her family.
“We really appreciate everything Chardon does for its residents,” she said.
Although there was a bit of rain April 15, the weather was actually quite cooperative, especially compared to some years, according to Chardon City Councilman David Lelko.
“One year it snowed so bad, you could not see the Easter Bunny,” Lelko said. “He was lost in the blizzard.”
Aside from the weather, Lelko also commented that this year’s hunt went rather fast, saying “This is the quickest it’s ever been.”
Chardon Area Chamber of Commerce Past President Steve Yaney, who officiated the 6-8-year-old contest, agreed.
“Yeah, it’s kind of funny,” he said, “to see something that took weeks of planning, and it’s over in seven minutes; the egg part, itself, only taking about 90 seconds.”
Although his son, twoyear-old Jacob, is a little too young for the hunt, Yaney said his daughter, 6-yearold Adrianna, has been doing it since she was about three.
He said that, aside from all the free candy, Adrianna likes the social aspect of the Easter egg hunt, too.
“She likes the Easter egg hunt a lot,” Yaney said. “Plus, all her friends from school are up here so she gets to see all of them, too.”
Besides the chamber of commerce, two other nonprofit groups — the Chardon Square Association and Chardon Tomorrow — also help organize the event.
And, according to Schneider, these organizations would never be able to pull it all off without the cooperation of Chardon, itself, along with the event’s sponsors: gold sponsor Lucas Pest Management; Walmart, who donated all the candy; Western Reserve Farm & Garden Center, who donated all the straw; Texas Roadhouse, who donated 100 free kids’ meals and the residents of Chardon Healthcare Center, who donated their time stuffing all the eggs.
“I mean, where else can you go and find a free event like this, where we give out over $500 in prizes and candy? It’s just a great time, a great event and we have some really great sponsors who we certainly want to thank,” he said.