The Great Easter Egg Hunt Massacre — Upcoming Easter Events

I just took down my Christmas tree and Easter is as good as here. Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration, but the year does seem to be going by quite quickly. It's almost time for chocolate rabbits and stuffed bunnies and, of course, Easter Egg hunts. I'll never forget an Easter egg hunt I was part of several years ago and, to say the least, it was an adventure.

The whole thing started when one of our managers said that we ought to have a city-wide Easter egg hunt, but not just any kind of Easter egg hunt, we were going to drop the eggs from a 30 foot crane' or something like that. Well, the idea sounded exciting, but,as it turns out, the plan looked much better on paper than it did in real life. Nothing, but nothing went right.

Our guy up on the crane decided to drop some plastic eggs filled with all kinds of prizes from his perch 30 feet above the crowd and he happily began tossing those plastic eggs over the side. The results of that little experience was really a learning experience. As soon as they hit that rock hard ground, those plastic eggs just exploded and prizes went flying out all over the place. It was like the eggs were filled with nitro or something. Frankly, instead of prize filled eggs it was more like the famous Humpty Dumpty.

We asked the crowd to wait until the count of 10, then our guy would drop eggs from his perch high above the crowd and, when the egg hit the ground, everyone of a certain age group was to take off and start picking up eggs. Sounds like a simple enough plan, doesn't it? Well, nothing went according to plan.

As soon as we began the countdown, parents, kids and a few pets took off for the "hidden" eggs and in less that two minutes, every egg, every piece of candy had been picked up and accounted for. The event that was supposed to last for two hours, lasted roughly 5 minutes. Still, we did have a good crowd, they were just a little eager to grab some eggs and go home.

Well, there's nothing like that planned this year, but there are some great events for kids and families in the area. Here's the list of Easter Events for the Lake Area.

Prien Lake Mall Easter Bunny Photo Experience: The Bunny Photo Experience begins March 24 and runs through April 15 in Sears Court. Children will have the chance to visit with the Easter Bunny and take home a treasured snapshot of the fun occasion. Come visit the Simon Easter Photo Experience and receive a fun-filled activity sheet, a custom 'Sing' holiday headband, and watch highlights from the movie. Here are some other Easter photo events going on at the mall:

• Sunday, March, 26, from 10 a.m. to 11:20 a.m., Prien Lake’s Caring Bunny event will offer families that have children with special needs a subdued environment to participate in the Bunny Photo Experience.
• Saturday, April 8 at 9 a.m., Prien Lake Mall will host Breakfast with the Bunny in the Food Court. Breakfast will be provided by Popeye’s.
• Sunday, April 9, from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m., Prien Lake Mall will host Pet Photos where families can bring their furry friends to take photos with the Easter Bunny. All individuals with animals must enter through the Talbot’s entrance.

The City of Lake Charles Recreation and Parks Department is hosting several Easter egg hunts at eight parks and recreation sites across the city. Children 12 and under are invited to participate. All events are free and open to the public. For more information, call the City of Lake Charles Recreation and Parks Department at 337-491-1280. Here are the following times and locations:

• Thursday, Mar. 30, 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., McMillan Center, 343 Goos Street.
• Thursday., April 4, 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., Columbus Circle Center, 3520 Greinwich Boulevard.
• Wednesday, April 5, 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., J.D. Clifton Center, 2415 East Geiffers Street.
• Thursday., April. 6, 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Bellard Center, 2808 Hillcrest Drive.
• Friday, April. 7, 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., Lanza Center, 609 Sycamore Street.
• Tuesday, April. 11, 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., College Oaks Center, 3518 Ernest Street.
• Wednesday, April. 12, 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., Willie McCullor Landry Center, 416 Dr. Michael DeBakey Drive.
• Thursday, April. 13, 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., Cpl. Donald Ray Stevens Center, 1619 Cessford Street.

Town of Iowa: Iowa Women's League will host the 6th Annual 'Easter in the Park' from 10 a.m. - 12 p.m., Saturday, April 15, at Iowa City Park. Bring your Easter basket. All children must be accompanied by an adult. There will be Easter Bunny pictures, coloring station, games and prizes.

Our Saviors Church in Jennings is hosting it's 4th Annual Easter Egg Drop, with over 60,000 eggs and a helicopter dropping them from the sky from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sat., April 8 at Jennings Parks and Recreations Center. Food vendors, fun jumps, face painting, games and more. Preregistration is highly encouraged. Visit Oscconnect.com/eggdrop

South City Christian Church Easter Eggstravaganza from 1-4 p.m., Saturday, April 8. Fun for the whole family. Besides an egg hunt, there will also be bounce houses, games, food, crafts and a drawing with prizes. Egg hunt begins at 2 p.m. and prize drawings begin at 3 p.m. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/1762227127424756/

Green Oak Baptist Church: 1st Annual Community-wide Easter Egg Hunt at 1 p.m., Saturday, April 15, at Merryville Heritage Center Stage and field, 628 North Railroad Street, Merryville. There will be an Easter morning sunrise service at 7 a.m., Sunday, April 16 at Jeff Cagle Pavillion, Merryville. For more information, call Pastor Ben Derrick at 1-870-828-0398.