Lifestyle(Archives)
The Hunt is on at Dunvegan Gardens
In 2011, Dunvegan Gardens and KAOS 91.1 co-founded a Giant Easter Egg Hunt held at Dunvegan’s Draper Road farm. Neither Dunvegan Gardens nor we could have imagined the extent of the crowds that would show up to search for the plastic eggs in the hay and the greenhouses. The Giant Easter Egg Hunt morphed into an annual event attracting more than 3,000 people every year. This year is our seventh annual hunt and we’re expecting to have our most participants yet.
In preparation for the Easter egg hunt, more than 33,000 plastic eggs are stuffed with wrapped candy or notes that lead hunters to a bigger prize at the front of the store. Chocolate eggs and bunnies, bags of candy, and small toys are among the prizes. The most sought-after prize is a golden egg with a note inside which may entitle the participant to a new bike or ‘Melissa and Doug’ branded toys.
The planning for the Giant Easter Egg Hunt begins the day after the previous year’s hunt and the excitement continues all year long. Busses are rented and scheduled, off site parking is arranged, portable washrooms are ordered, permits are applied for, community mascots are locked in, traffic directors are requested and the prizes are collected. The Annual Easter Egg Hunt is a huge undertaking but it is always worth it when we see the kids caught up in magic it creates.
KAOS 91.1 continues to partner in the event as part of our commitment to promoting healthy families and healthy communities. We get on board with advertising the event through commercials and our announcers talking about it in the lead-up. On the day of the event, we offer hot drinks, face painting and balloons. We also arrange for our staff and a host of volunteers to help manage the crowds of excited hunters. This year’s hunt is on April 17 so if you tune your radio to 91.1 that day, in between the broadcast of some ‘Real. Good. Music,’, you’ll hear live updates of each of the Easter egg hunts.
The Easter Bunny himself and owner of Dunvegan Gardens, Brad Friesen spoke with us about the event saying, “We delight in putting the Easter Egg Hunt on every year. It’s such a great event for young and old and inclusive of all people. We love watching the joy and laughter it brings to the folks who come out. It’s so heartwarming to see the children having fun and we’re so thankful for the local businesses and neighbours who have partnered with us in helping to make a difference in the community for good. It’s definitely a huge highlight on our calendar.”
This year, ten Easter egg hunts are scheduled with the first one starting at 10:00.am. Buses run from off-site parking checkpoints every 20 minutes. A small fee is collected per child and adults are free. A mom of two, regular attendee and KAOS staff member Carina van Heerde remarked, “It’s truly great day for families. The kids always enjoy themselves but mom and dad also have fun. It’s wonderful to see the community come out on such an important weekend.” At KAOS 91.1 we couldn’t agree more, so please plan to join us in a day of fun, at Dunvegan Gardens on April 17th!
Also, we are always looking for sponsors and volunteers to partner with us to make the Giant Easter Egg Hunt, a true community building event, better than ever. If you would like to help in either of these areas, please call the station at 780-791-5910 – We’d love to welcome you onboard!
For tickets or more information, check out our event on the Snapd Wood Buffalo online calendar at woodbuffalo.snapd.com.
Above left to right: Kaileigh Murphy proudly shows her easter egg basket; Brad Friesen and the Dunvegan Gardens Staff; Deanna Reid-Boostrom and her family.
By the time this article is printed, we’ll have a new name! For 10 years, KAOS 91.1 has always strived to be a bridge between social profits and the community of Fort McMurray. It was time for a name change to better reflect our vision and mandate, introducing 91.1 The Bridge!
