BRADENTON BEACH – Anna Maria Island Moose Lodge #2188 in Bradenton Beach hosted its annual Easter egg hunt last Saturday morning.
Ninety-six children were registered in advance to participate in the hunt. Upon arrival, each child received a bucket containing a shovel, a coloring book, assorted toys and more. They then gathered on the Moose Lodge’s Gulf-front patio waiting for the fun to begin.
Hundreds of candy-filled Easter eggs were partially buried in the beach sand between the Moose Lodge and the Gulf of Mexico. One area was designated for kids 5 years old and younger. A second area was designated for kids 6-10 years old.
Shortly after 9 a.m. Senior Regent Joy Shames used a bullhorn as she explained how the Easter egg hunt would unfold.
“No pushing the other kids to get the Easter eggs. We have plenty of eggs. The most important rule is to have fun,” Shames told the children.
Before the hunt began, Shames said, “We are having our annual kids’ Easter egg hunt and we are raising money and support for our children of the Moose and for our seniors. We’re having a raffle as well and we’re here to have fun. And there’s some special eggs that Byron donated. Instead of candy, the kids are going to get some money,” Shames said.
“Everybody likes money, so why not give them a chance to find it,” Lodge Administrator Byron Dalton added. “The Women of the Moose – Joy and her crew – have really done a phenomenal job putting this together.”
About five minutes later, the younger children were asked to line up along one side of the roped-off egg-hunting area. When given the signal, the youngsters dashed into the egg-filled area and the hunt was on. A few minutes later, the older children did the same. Within 10 minutes, all the buried eggs had been found.
The children and their family members then headed inside the Moose Lodge for more fun-filled activities. As they entered the lodge, the youngsters got a chance to guess how many jelly beans were in one of three jars appropriate to their age group. Four-year-old Bella Russell guessed there were 100 jelly beans in the jar she examined. Her brother, Ezariah, guessed 120 jelly beans.
Playing in groups according to the table where they sat, the children played Hangman, with Lo Bucher and Mica Warner manning the whiteboard that revealed “candy” and “bunny” as some of the winning words. The winning tables received bags of popcorn from Moose volunteer Sherry Fragapane.
Some children enjoyed a game of “Simon Says” while the Easter Bunny made her rounds and visited the youngsters and their families.
The children were also treated to breakfast.
During a visit to his table, young Nathan Caskey was asked if he had fun.
“Yeah,” he said, pointing to his pile of eggs. He then gleefully held up a dollar bill he found in one of his eggs – which may have been placed there by his dad, Jon Caskey.
“My kids look forward to this. My in-laws live here and we travel down from North Carolina. On the way down, the kids are talking about the fun they’re going to have. It’s been a tradition for us for eight years now,” Jon said.
