TINA L. SCOTT
EDITOR

The Merrill Park and Recreation Department had a great response to this year’s somewhat-non-traditional Easter Egg Hunt. On Saturday morning, Apr. 3, 100 plastic eggs were distributed at City parks including Riverside, Kitchenette, Stange, Normal, and Agra Parks and also at the Merrill Festival Grounds (former Lincoln County Fairgrounds). The Easter Egg Hunt was a four-hour event. Children could find an egg and then come to Ott’s Park to retrieve a prize based on the coupon inside of their egg.
“We had a little over 250 kids return eggs to collect a prize, which was really nice to see,” said Dawn Smith, Administrative Assistant for the Merrill Parks and Recreation Department. “Some of the prizes included swim shirts, candy containers, eggs filled with stickers, basketballs, and so much more.”
As an added bonus, “Every child also received a free pass to the Bierman Family Aquatic Center,” Smith said.
The Easter Bunny was on site to wave to the children as they went to get their prize, and prizes were collected using a drive-through system without anyone leaving their vehicle to maximize social distancing. Unfortunately, children weren’t able to get a photo with the Easter Bunny this year due to COVID restrictions, but they are hoping to restore that fun tradition for kids next year.
“We did receive a lot of compliments on the hunt,” Smith said, “And we were very grateful that we were able to host it. … We did enjoy the Easter Egg Hunt this year, but hopefully next year we will be able to have the traditional Easter Egg Hunt. The Merrill Park and Recreation Department would like to thank everyone that participated in the Easter Egg Hunt. It was so nice seeing all the kids!”
The Park & Rec Department also wants to thank all the people who helped this year. “A big thank you to Park City Credit Union,” Smith said. “They stuffed all our eggs and put together all of our prize bags. Also, a big thank you to the Octogan Kids for hiding the eggs in the parks on Saturday Morning.”