Two Bradenton churches draw 4,500 for egg hunt at G.T. Bray
No matter what their age, children do seem to formulate a plan for how to get their share of plastic Easter eggs at the annual Community Egg Hunt at G.T. Bray Park.
For instance, on Sunday’s 10th Annual Community Egg Hunt at the park, 16 separate Easter egg hunts for different age groups were conducted on the park’s softball fields and, afterward, children were willing to reveal their secrets.
Bradenton’s Aston Watson, 6, said, “You run.”
Aston’s sister, Toni Brown, 4, took Aston’s idea and refined it: “You’ve got to run fast,” she said.
It’s very nice for the churches to do this. I hope they get blessed ten-fold for doing it. I hope next year will be bigger and better for them. This is a blessing and I thank them so much. It was worth the two dollars for each child. It was worth it. I’d have paid five. The food was good. Three tacos and a drink for five dollars. You can’t beat that. Everything was perfect.
Regina Watson on Sunday’s Community Egg Hunt at G.T. Bray Park
Their sister, Chatonia Brown, 8, a veteran egg gatherer, realized a few years ago that it’s easy to actually run too fast and run past eggs: “You have to pick them up,” she said.
While there were many plans hatched on Sunday’s sun-drenched and breezy day at the park, Bradenton’s Damien Steward, 8, may have outschemed them all.
Damien, who came to G.T. Bray Park with his grandmother, Christine Steward, sister Calli, 5, and aunt Vickie Steward, said his secret for getting the most Easter eggs was to avoid running flat-footed.
“My dad taught me this,” Damien said. “He said, ‘Just run on your tippy-toes because you run a lot more faster. If you run with your whole foot on the ground it takes a longer time.’ ”
A special time for families
The Community Egg Hunt at G.T. Bray Park has, over the last decade, firmly established itself as one of the largest and most popular public events in Bradenton and one of the most endearing.
On Sunday, the crowd, estimated at 4,500, was so large that the two sponsoring churches, The Church at Bradenton and King’s River Church, had to send volunteers out at 3 p.m. for more candy because more children than expected successfully tracked down plastic Easter eggs that were redeemable for candy.
Last year’s crowd was estimated at 4,000.
It took 120 volunteers from both churches to pull it off, said The Rev. Ancil Abney, the lead pastor at The Church at Bradenton, 2520 43rd St. W., Bradenton.
“It was possibly a record crowd, but it’s hard to tell because there are so many people moving in so many directions,” Abney said.
“More people came than we were prepared for,” said The Rev. Curtis Forbes of King’s River Church, 2300 43rd St. W., Bradenton, the first church other than The Church at Bradenton to ever co-sponsor the event.
The Church at Bradenton leases space on its campus to its next-door neighbor, King’s River Church.
“We want to change the world for Jesus,” Abney said when asked why the churches combined forces for the 2017 egg hunt. “We do better working together.”
“Stronger together,” Forbes said. “It’s God’s city. It’s God’s people and we are coming together to help do the work.”
Asked for his first impression of the Community Egg Hunt, Forbes said: “Awesome. Awesome opportunity to reach the community. Lots of wonderful families out here. I am just grateful to be a part of it.”
The pair indicated their churches would work together in 2018 as well.
Families attended for a $2 suggested donation per child, which included the egg hunt, bounce houses, popcorn, cotton candy, music, a clown performance and face painting.
“If people didn’t come prepared with any cash they got to attend anyway,” Abney said. “No one was turned away. That’s our philosophy and promise to the community.”
There was a drawing for 10 new bicycles and a mist tent put up to cool everyone off.
The Easter Bunny appeared for photo opportunities, and there was a sensory station for toddlers on bales of hay.
“It’s a tremendous opportunity to meet young families and provide for them an all-day event at the park,” Abney said. “They just love it.”
Regina Watson, the mother of Aston Watson, Chatonia Brown and Toni Brown, took her children to a Dollar Tree store before the egg hunt and bought plastic buckets and bunny ear hats.
“It’s very nice for the churches to do this,” Watson said. “I hope they get blessed ten-fold for doing it. I hope next year will be bigger and better for them. This is a blessing and I thank them so much. It was worth the two dollars for each child. It was worth it. I’d have paid five. The food was good. Three tacos and a drink for five dollars. You can’t beat that. Everything was perfect.”
Richard Dymond: 941-745-7072, @RichardDymond
This story was originally published April 9, 2017 at 10:06 PM with the headline "Two Bradenton churches draw 4,500 for egg hunt at G.T. Bray."