Southlanders who prefer their Easter egg hunts sunny-side up found the weather served just the way they like it Saturday at the region’s few remaining holiday activities.
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While many egg hunts were in the basket the weekend preceding Easter, Saturday offered a few more opportunities for children to scramble for plastic-shelled goodies, including at the Glenwood-Lynwood Public Library. With many area residents over the hard rains that have blanketed the area in recent weeks, the sun in the sky Saturday outweighed the chill.
“I figured we’d come out and have a little fun,” said Ashley Rodriguez, of South Chicago Heights.
Rodriguez took to the west lawn of the library with her daughters Aracely, 6, and Adalina, 6 months, after they found the event on Facebook. Marisol Alaia, of Lynwood, saw a similar post and brought her daughters Hanna, 4, and Noah, 6.
“This is fun,” Marisol said. “They loved it.”
Rhonda Ruffin, information services manager for the library, said the event is not new, but this marked the first time it has been held in a couple of years because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s our annual Easter Egg Hunt, two years removed,” Ruffin said. “We are excited about bringing back some of our traditional programming. We’ve got our fingers crossed that COVID won’t spoil those. We’ve planned our summer events and we’re excited about bringing back some we’ve done in the past.”
Ruffin said the hunt is not always Easter weekend; it just ended up that way in 2022. Typically, the library looks at area schedules, particularly the two villages it represents, to avoid conflicts. As with almost all of the library’s programs, the egg hunt was free, which has made it incredibly popular, Ruffin said. The plastic eggs were filled mostly with candy but also some bracelets and little toys.
“Any time kids can come and run around outside and get free candy is always a good day,” Ruffin said.
At 11 a.m. — “on the dot; we’re always on time,” Ruffin said — the hunt was on. It took just a couple of minutes for the lawn to be empty, save for the half shells of eggs cracked open on the fly by a fluffle of children divided by age groups. Following the hunt, the Easter Bunny was available for photos. And families could grab bags containing three take-home crafts, which have become a staple during the pandemic, according to Ruffin.
“It was really nice,” said Kimberly Conda, of Glenwood, who brought her twin 6-year-old boys. “I enjoyed it. I’d come again.”
Anna Melendrez, of Calumet City, has brought her daughter ever since she was a baby. This year, 16-month-old Anakin got to join the family.
“He didn’t know what to expect,” Melendrez said. “It’s really nice. The Easter Bunny’s great. It’s nice what they do.”
Manar Shatat, of Lynwood, brought her daughter Farrah, and they found plenty to love about it yet again.
“The kids love to pick eggs and take pictures with the bunny,” she said. “It’s a holiday and the weekend and spring break. We love that.”
Bill Jones is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.