Youngsters toting candy-filled baskets along with older kids and adults covered in mud will be among the visuals following Saturday morning’s Community Easter Egg Hunt at the rodeo grounds in Skirvin Park.
Hosted by the Philomath Frolic and Rodeo, the annual event is scheduled to begin at 10:02 a.m. rain or shine.
The lineup of activities includes free Easter egg hunts for children of various age groups in separate grass areas. Kids from toddlers up to age 12 are invited to hunt for candy-filled eggs that will be hidden by volunteers.
The hunt start times for the children will be staggered so no groups are looking for eggs at the same time. Children will need to bring their own basket.
“We ended up stuffing just over 8,000 eggs this year,” Workman said, mentioning that it took about 3-1/2 hours to get the job done. “We had a lot of volunteers come from a local 4-H group and a bunch of Frolic volunteers.”
As for the weather, recent forecasts for Saturday showed sunny skies and temperatures in the upper 40s during the mid-morning hours.
“I’m hoping this year that we’re not quite as wet so that we’ll be able to utilize the area behind the grandstands,” Workman said.
Organizers do ask that the plastic eggs be returned in bins that will be set up on site.
“In order to keep the event free for everybody and to make it a little bit more affordable for the folks at the Frolic, we do ask for the eggs to go back,” Workman said. “Keep the candy and place them in the bins so we can wash them and use them again next year. It saves us quite a bit of money by not having to buy new eggs every year.”
The third annual Mud Hunt returns for ages 13 and older (and that includes adults). In this event, participants go looking through a muddy Philomath Frolic and Rodeo arena. The fun will start roughly 10 minutes after the final age-grouped Easter egg hunt. The Mud Hunt entry fee is $3 (cash only).
“There will be some candy-filled eggs in there but also cash-filled eggs,” Workman said, mentioning that a number of bills in various denominations up to $20 will be given away.
Last year, winning eggs included slips of paper that could be redeemed for the cash. Organizers decided to change that up.
“That was not as fun — I think we were afraid of the thought that if nobody finds the eggs, then we’ve lost the money,” Workman said. “But it’s pretty easy to find the eggs up there … we just kind of drop them around. It’s more about watching people run through the mud to find them. This year, we’re going to put the actual cash in the eggs.”
Workman said the entry fees from the Mud Hunt helps the Easter egg hunt pay for itself.
“It’s not a fundraiser by any means and the only reason we charge $3 is just to be able to have enough money to put back into the eggs,” Workman said. “It also covers a little bit of the cost of the candy but not fully — candy is pretty expensive.”
Workman pointed out that this year’s event will have limited parking.
“We’re not going to allow any parking on the grass this year,” Workman said. “We had too much trouble last year with people getting stuck, so you’re only allowed to park on hard surfaces. We can utilize the Weist Logging area but we’re asking people that if things really fill up to just park in the neighborhood there off of Cedar, back in there, and walk if you need to.”
In addition to the Community Easter Egg Hunt, various churches also hold their own events on Sunday. Peace Lutheran Church, located at 2540 Applegate St., invites all to its event, which has an estimated start time of about 11:15 a.m. (following the 10 a.m. Easter Sunday Service).
