Egg-Stravaganza a family free-for-all

It’s time again for the First Baptist Church of Houma’s annual Family Egg-stravaganza Easter Egg Hunt.

The April 4 hunt kicks off at 10 a.m. at the church’s new property on West Park Avenue, a half-mile north of Coteau Road near Southern Estates Subdivision.

The Easter egg hunt is open to preschoolers through fifth graders. According to Colleen Marcel, hunt coordinator, toddlers at walking age are also invited.

One of many community outreach events, Egg-stravaganza was well received last year, and Marcel is gearing up for an even larger event this year.

In past years, First Baptist Church of Houma held Easter egg hunts for its preschool children. Sadly, older children were left out of the mix.

“My children have always loved to go Easter egg hunting,” Marcel said. “But they are way past preschool age. So I figured why not make it bigger so that the big kids could join in on the fun.”

Last year, Marcel and church volunteers stuffed over 10,000 plastic eggs with trinkets and candy. Virtually every inch of the property was covered.

“It was amazing to see the area we covered with the bright eggs,” she said. “Every place you stepped their was an egg with a little surprise in it.”

The Egg-stravaganza crew is upping the ante this year. By late March, they’d filled more than 13,000 plastic eggs.

“Every year, I want to add more and more eggs to make the event bigger,” Marcel said. “We had a little over 10,000 eggs last year and the children picked the area clean within minutes. It’s going to be exciting to see how they scramble for 13,000 eggs.”

Because First Baptist expanded the age groups, Marcel had to order age-appropriate eggs. Smaller children will hunt for bigger, easier-to-find eggs while kindergarteners through fifth graders search for regular-sized plastic eggs.

And although each egg has a prize, the tradition remains that the lucky child who finds the “golden egg” gets a grand prize, Marcel said. That’s a new feature this year. In all, six golden eggs for the respective age groups will be hidden.

Golden egg-retrieving toddlers receive a fluffy yellow, white and orange chicken. Youngsters in the 1-to-2 and 3-to-5 age groups will receive an Easter basket filled with toys.

The prize for the older set will be a surprise announced that day. Marcel did offer one hint: second through fifth grade golden egg recipients are getting a nifty iPod shuffle.

The day’s fun also includes bounce houses and arts and crafts tables.

For more information about the Easter egg hunt, contact Marcel at (985) 851-2520.

More than 13,000 surprise-filled eggs are hiding at this year’s Egg-Stravaganza.