Sunny spirits despite rainy weather at Easter Bunny event
MIDDLEBORO —The Easter Bunny hopped between the raindrops to Middleboro on Saturday, April 12.
Though the annual Meeting House Church egg hunt on the town hall lawn was postponed until April 19, families still got in the Easter spirit thanks to the Middleboro Merchants egg hunt.
Kids visited with the Easter Bunny, stationed at the home furnishing store Rekindled Home, and scavenged for eggs at several stores downtown.
The candy-filled eggs were a hit with youngsters, and so was the Easter Bunny, for the most part.
Though timid at first, toddler Vivienne Wojtusik eventually worked up the courage to fist bump the Easter Bunny, who she affectionately called “hop hop.”
Five-month-old Mateo Irizarry was all smiles however from the moment he was placed in the Easter Bunny’s lap. The Irizarry family goes every year to the egg hunt at Town Hall.
Because Saturday’s event was postponed, they decided to check out what was going on downtown, said Mateo’s mother, Lynn.
On the plus side, “this gives us the opportunity to see stores that we’ve never been to, even though we’ve lived here for five years,” she said.
The goal of the downtown egg hunt is to bring more business downtown, said Sandy Cronin, who owns Rekindled Home and is a member of Middleboro Merchants. “We want to work together to expand downtown’s reach and show the community that there’s so much to do here.”
Businesses pay out of pocket to host this event, she said. “We don't have a fund for this.”
The expense seems to be worth it, however. “Every year we do this, people love it,” added Cronin.
After posing for a picture with the Easter Bunny, families took a stroll up Center Street to search for eggs in one of the 11 businesses participating in the egg hunt. Eggs were filled with candy and, in some cases, store prizes like gift cards.
Middleboro Merchants will put on its next big event, the first-ever Spring Market Day, on May 10. The event is open to any registered Middleboro business interested in participating. For more information, contact rekindledhome@yahoo.com.
