NYM, Bluffton, Ottertail to host egg hunts on Saturday

By Chad Koenen

Publisher

On Saturday the New York Mills Civic and Commerce group will sponsor its annual Easter egg hunt at Smith Park. 

The Easter egg hunt will begin at 10 a.m. and feature three age groups to allow children of all ages to search for colorful plastic eggs filled with everything from candy to prizes inside. 

There will be three age groups attempting to find approximately 2,500 eggs hidden around Smith Park. The Easter Bunny may also make an appearance at the annual Easter tradition.  

Ottertail egg hunt

Don’t blink, because if you do chances are you will miss approximately 5,500 colorful plastic Easter eggs disappear before your eyes. 

One of the largest Easter egg hunts across the region will be held on Saturday afternoon near the Ottertail Community Center. The event will feature four age categories including 0-2, 3-6, 7-9 and 10 and above. In addition to candy and a variety of prizes in each of the Easter eggs, over 70 large prizes in specially marked eggs will be up for grabs on Saturday.

“We will break the prizes down by age groups,” said Ottertail Business and Community Association President Ron Grobeck. “We will make sure every age group has an equal number of prizes.”

While those who attend the egg hunt have a chance to fill their buckets, shirts and anything else they bring with a candy-filled egg, others will have the chance to meet the Easter Bunny. The Easter Bunny will be available for pictures from 12:30-1:30 p.m. The first 100 children to visit the Easter Bunny will receive a special prize, but unlike years past, children will not be able to sit on the lap of the Easter Bunny. Instead, Grobeck said the Easter Bunny will be following COVID-19 protocols by seeing the children outside of the community center. 

Grobeck said the egg hunt is one of the larger events the OTBCA does for the community each year as they hope to keep expanding the popular spring event. He said this year’s event will be no different, despite the challenges with COVID-19.

“Every year we just try to keep growing it and doing more and more stuff,” said Grobeck. “It will be a fun event.”

The egg hunt will begin at 1 p.m. near the community center. The event typically lasts just minutes as children fill their buckets as quickly as they can.

Bluffton

Over 2,000 Easter eggs will be hidden at the city park in Bluffton on Saturday morning. The annual egg hunt will get underway at 10:30 a.m.

The egg hunt is free and is open to all children age 0-10. 

The event is hosted by the Bluffton community and the Bluffton Hometown Days Planning Committee.