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Thousands gather for EGGstravaganza

CARLSBAD — Thousands of local residents hopped to Carlsbad Parks and Recreation’s eighth annual EGGStravaganza Spring Festival on April 23 for an Easter- and spring-themed family event at Poinsettia Park.
Children came dressed in their most festive spring attire and armed with Easter baskets for pictures with the Easter bunny, an Egg Scramble hunt and spring-related crafts.
“This is a great turnout,” Recreation Supervisor Rachael Shay said. “Carlsbad is like a big family and events like this bring our community family together.”
On-site activities included bounce houses, a dunk tank with a designated “dunk Easter bunny,” and an obstacle course. Face painting and cupcake decorating were also popular activities at the spring festival.
However for many, the highlight of the event was the Egg Scramble Easter egg hunt, which featured both a competitive and staged egg hunt for children of all ages.
Eggs were scattered about Poinsettia Park’s baseball fields for the event. Older children were encouraged to hunt for as many as possible, while piles of “guaranteed eggs” were left for those younger kids that wanted to participate, Shay said.
“We’re having such a great time,” Kelly Gann said. She and her husband Eric brought their daughter Harper, 15 months, to the festival. “This is her first Easter where she’s walking and can do an egg hunt — she’s so excited and making a lot of friends.”
Although festival activity cards were sold in advance at three participating community centers in Carlsbad, residents encountered lines at both the ticket booth and many of the activity stations.
“Our daughters Avalon and Arianna love this event; we’ve been coming for the last five years,” Noel Johnson of Carlsbad said. “We’ve learned to keep arriving earlier each year because the lines keep getting longer.”
Despite the long lines, residents said the event was well worth the wait.
The Chisolm family traveled to the EGGStravaganza Spring Festival from Fallbrook, having read about the event online. Eight-year-old Leila Chisolm, with her face painted like a bunny rabbit, said the trip to Carlsbad was “so worth it.”
The EGGStravaganza Spring Festival event was also an opportunity for local residents to learn more about Carlsbad’s Parks and Recreations classes available this summer.
Class instructors held sports demonstrations and offered samples of art and cooking classes. Representatives were also on hand from the offered science and technology courses, including LEGO engineering and science experimentation.
“It’s awesome exposure for our camp programs and provides free activities to help offset the cost that people have to pay for the Fun Zone and egg hunt,” Shay said.
For more information about Carlsbad’s Parks and Recreations summer programs, visit carlsbadca.gov.