Hundreds of eager children and their parents turned out for breakfast with the Easter Bunny and an Easter egg hunt at Woodland Park, sponsored by The Portage Kiwanis Club, the Portage Parks and Recreation Department, and the Real Life Community Church.
While families ate their fill of pancakes, played games, and had their pictures taken with the Easter Bunny, members of the Real Life Community Church carried buckets of candy-filled plastic eggs to the park lawn. As they spread them across the grounds, Catherine Patterson said members of her church had filled 4,000 eggs for the event – including one golden egg.
The children lined up by age to wait for their chance to gather eggs. Thomas Foley, 5 years old, said he was planning to collect 66 eggs in his plastic shopping bag, but Yakira Smith, 6, armed with a small pink basket, had bigger plans. She was shooting for 100. Once the signal was given, the children streamed onto the lawn, happily scooping up as many of the colorful eggs as possible. Kelly Beezhold discovered the golden egg and took home a giant Easter Basket filled with candy and toys.
“It’s really hard to get into the spirit of Easter unless you come to something like this,” said Diane Wszolek. “As adults, we forget.” Wszolek and her husband James were at the event to show support for the Portage community. James Wszolek is running for Porter County Council At-Large.
Joy Lundstrom of the Portage Kiwanis Club said that proceeds from the event fund the organization’s Myron Fessler Scholarships for graduating Portage High School students. Last year, four students received scholarships.
More information about the Portage Kiwanis Club can be found at www.PortageKiwanis.org.
More photos from this event can be viewed here.