BRADENTON BEACH – Due to rainy weather, Saturday morning’s Easter egg hunt at the Anna Maria Island Moose Lodge took place inside the lodge.
The annual event usually features hundreds of brightly colored plastic eggs buried in the beach sand between Moose Lodge #2188 and the Gulf of Mexico. Separated into two age groups, the youngsters then make a mad dash for buried eggs and the hunt is over within a few minutes. The rain that fell Friday night and early Saturday morning forced the Women of the Moose to improvise and bring the event inside.
Upon arrival at 10 a.m., and accompanied by parents and grandparents, the 99 youngsters who pre-registered for the free March 23 event were greeted by Moose volunteers who handed them activity sheets that included a word puzzle and images to be colored.
The youngsters were served breakfast that featured French toast sticks and were encouraged to play games that included Easter-themed cornhole boards. As the activities unfolded, the Easter Bunny made rounds to the delight of youngsters and adults alike.
The Women of the Moose planned this year’s event, with Moose member Sandra Zenzel leading the way.
“We started planning this about two months ago,” Zenzel said. “We have 400 eggs and they can pick out two eggs at a time. Once they go through the lines, if we have any eggs left over they can come back through again.”
The plastic eggs containing 35 cents each were placed in two large bowls and the youngsters stood in one of two lines waiting their turn to dig through the colored confetti to retrieve their eggs.
After all the eggs were given out, the youngsters were told four larger golden eggs were hidden under the dining room chairs and a frenzied search ensued for the golden eggs, which each contained a $10 bill and a small stuffed bunny rabbit. Brady Kolanowski, Scarlett Cody, Morgan Clemens and Cooper Henderson found the golden eggs.
When the event concluded at 11:30 a.m., each child left with an Easter bucket filled with candy and other goodies and treats.
