Some cold weather and muddy baseball fields were not about to scramble the plans of hundreds of area families who hopped Saturday morning to Centennial Park for the Orland Park’s annual Lucky Egg Hunt.
“Kids, they don’t really pay attention to the temperature,” said Latoya Moore, of Orland Hills, with a laugh. “It’s more so us.”
At the sound of an air horn, Moore’s grandson, 2-year-old Josiah Price, was one of hundreds of children age 9 or younger who took to the soaked baseball fields of Centennial Park to collect as many of the 12,000 plastic eggs as possible. They were filled with candy, knickknacks and “winner” slips to be redeemed through the Recreation and Parks Department. Moore said they heard about the egg hunt before, but this marked their first time attending.
“We were almost late, so I’m glad we got here on time,” Moore said. “We had a great time.”
Kathy Schumacher, of Orland Park, was there with her husband and two children for the second year. She said it was a bit cold, but Nomi, 5, and Tiernan, 4, still liked the event.
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“They loved the chaos,” Schumacher said. “The mud sliding made it fun, too.”
The free event has become an annual tradition for Ashley Stout, of Orland Park over the past few years. She attended with her husband, two daughters, three nieces, parents, brothers and sisters. She said the village puts on a wonderful event.
“We wouldn’t miss it, rain or shine,” Stout said. “We were a little worried about the cold and the fields being muddy from the rain yesterday, but that’s what layers and rain boots are for.”
Rhys Graves, 2, of Beverly, did not seem to mind his knee getting wet while searching the 1- and 2-year-old field for the best eggs. His father, Rhett, said they have family in the area and decided to bring Rhys to his first hunt.
“I was really surprised; he took off,” Graves said. “It’s been fun.”
This year’s egg hunt was sponsored by the Central Credit Union of Illinois and the Orland Park Law Enforcement Organization, according to Recreation and Parks Director Ray Piattoni. He estimated roughly 1,000 people attended, though registration is not required so an exact count was not available.
Following the egg hunt, families lined up for photos with the Easter Bunny.
Mayor Keith Pekau said the annual tradition is usually the first time families get out on the fields for the year. The weather is typically getting better by this point.
“People are dying to get out after a whole winter stuck inside,” Pekau said. “I think it’s special. The kids always have a great time.”
While the weather was by most accounts a bit cold and the fields still quite wet, Pekau said the egg hunt has been held in worse conditions, such as snow. He saw positives Saturday in the rain finally breaking after a two-week stretch.
“We’ve got sun and we have just a ton of people out here,” he said.
Bill Jones is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.