Apr 12, 2023

Great Bend enjoyed unique Easter egg hunts this year

Posted Apr 12, 2023 4:00 PM

By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post

From a child’s perspective, you can never go wrong with an Easter egg hunt. Find eggs, get candy. The Great Bend Recreation Commission took the concept even further this month with their Flashlight Easter Egg Hunt. Great Bend Rec Program Director Megan Hammeke said there were 254 entries pre-registered for the event and at least 100 more children signed up at the event.

"We filled up the Sports Complex parking lot," said Hammeke. "They were parking almost to Central Kansas Christian Academy because there were so many people coming. If you weren't early, they were running just get to the egg hunt on time."

Children ages 0-12 were divided into groups to hunt 5,000 eggs in the evening with their flashlights at the Great Bend Sports Complex. 

"We actually bought a bike for every age group," said Hammeke. "There was a golden ticket on each field. In the 9-12 year-old range, the girl that found the golden ticket, her dad came up and told us how big of a blessing it was. They were trying to figure out how to buy their daughter a bike because she needed one this summer. She was the one that found the golden ticket."

Earlier in the day, the Great Bend Rec hosted the PAWesome Easter Egg hunt at Veterans Memorial Park where 92 dogs hunted for eggs with pet-friendly treats inside. The 92 dogs was an increase from the 60 participants from a year ago.