Winfield Township prepares for post-Easter egg hunt
This spring, the Winfield Township annual egg hunt is planned for the weekend after Easter.
But the effort it takes to bring the event to life is well underway. The eggs were filled by volunteers at local churches and senior centers, including Magnolia Place and Concordia at Cabot.
Now, tens of thousands of eggs are stored at event coordinator Terri Leslie’s house, ready to be spread across fields on the day of the event, which has historically brought out upward of 500 children to the community park.
“We do anywhere from 20,000 eggs to as high as 25,000.” she said.
This year’s race to collect eggs begins promptly at 11:45 a.m April 11, but gates open at 11 a.m. at Winfield Community Park, 194 Brose Road. It’s the sixth-annual event organized by the Cabot Crusaders.
A committee of six members includes Leslie, along with newly elected township Supervisor Rob Moser and his wife, Michelle. Also involved are Jerry Bundy, Ashley Bachman and Laura Welsh.
“The day of the event we get volunteers to help hide the eggs, work the gate, help with parking and Michelle has even driven the shuttle for us,” Leslie said.
Participants in the Easter egg hunt will be divided by age bracket. Ages 2 and younger will get first crack starting at 11:45 a.m., followed by ages 3 to 5 at noon, 6 to 8 at 12:15 p.m. and 9 to 12 at 12:30 p.m.
The eggs bring the children, but it’s not the only draw of the event. Several organizations are supporting the Crusaders by serving as food vendors or providing ancillary activities.
“We’re having all kinds of food trucks, and we have entertainment for the kids, including a petting zoo,” Leslie said. “We have three different fire companies that support us and bring their engines. We will have the Amish doughnut people there this year selling their doughnuts, which are absolutely delicious!”
Leslie stressed the Easter egg hunt and everything surrounding it is absolutely free. Aside from patronizing the food trucks, no one is required to spend money to take part in the event. However, participants are encouraged to bring a nonperishable food item for the Cabot Food Bank.
“This event is strictly all donations. We charge for absolutely nothing,” Leslie said. “We put an event together for the kiddos.”
According to Leslie, the reason that this year’s event takes place a week after Easter Sunday — April 5 this year — is due to community feedback.
“We had been told in the past that we were interfering with the first day of trout and soccer season,” Leslie said. “We put a survey out to the public last year, asking what their thoughts were to having (the egg hunt) after Easter. Out of the responses we got, only one person was against it, so we decided to try it.”
Leading up to this year’s event, the organizers had to jump through some unexpected logistical hurdles regarding the Cabot Crusaders and its status as a nonprofit entity. In February, Leslie received a letter from Pennsylvania’s Department of State informing her the Crusaders had not been properly registered to solicit or receive donations over the previous five-year period.
“(The letter) was more for organizations that make over $20,000, which we have never, ever done,” Leslie said.
With some help from the office of state Rep. Marci Mustello, R-11th, Leslie was able to resolve the situation and allow the egg hunt to go ahead as planned.
“I talked to a very nice lady in Harrisburg,” Leslie said. “She helped me with the information they needed.
“We had a gentleman help do paperwork for us pro bono, and we got the green light to keep going. So all is good.”
