Check out these Easter egg hunts and events

By Jon Bodell - Apr 11, 2017 | 0 comments

The Eggstravaganza at Kimball Jenkins is always a big hit with the kids, as you can see in this photo from a previous year's event. And, since it's free, it should be pretty appealing to you, too.(Courtesy of Kimball Jenkins Estate)

The Eggstravaganza at Kimball Jenkins is always a big hit with the kids, as you can see in this photo from a prior event. And, since it's free, it should be pretty appealing to parents, too.

Brucea Camilo, 4, left, and her sister Ivana, 3, both of Manchester, pick up eggs at Mill Brook School in Concord Sunday.

Carden Aldridge, 4, of Concord, is the first to make it to the freshly-dropped eggs behind Mill Brook School Sunday.

There will be more plastic eggs hiding around Concord over the course of the week than you’ll know what to do with.

Isabella Harder, 2, of Pembroke drops a plastic egg into the basket held by her sister Madison Osborne, 9, at the start of the annual Easter egg hunt put on by the Boys & Girls Club of Suncook at Whitten Street Park in Allenstown on Saturday morning, April 4, 2015.

The annual Easter egg hunt put on by the Boys & Girls Club of Suncook took place at Whitten Street Park in Allenstown on Saturday morning, April 4, 2015.

Are you feeling that itch yet? (Hopefully you didn’t just answer “yes” without knowing where we were going with that.)

We’re talking about the Easter egg hunting itch, and it’s going around like the plague right now.

Believe it or not, it’s already just about time to celebrate that fateful day in history when a gigantic bunny hopped into every home on Earth, depositing eggs, plastic grass and pastel-colored candy all over the place – at least that’s the story we found on the internet one time.

Anybody who has kids, grandkids, nieces or nephews and has ever hosted an egg hunt at home knows one thing to be true: there will always be unfound eggs, some of which might turn up the following August and some which will never be found at all, sadly.

To avoid this petty nuisance (and potential loss of money, if you’re the kind of family who goes that route), you should consider taking advantage of one of the egg hunts and/or related events going on in Concord over the next week or so.

Here’s what we found:

Village Idiotz

Village Idiotz Entertainment Center – affectionately known as The Bounce House Place inside Steeplegate Mall – has a whole week of Easter adventures planned for the kids.

Every day, there will be fun activities such as arts and crafts, raffles, giveaways, a coloring contest and, of course, egg hunts and pictures with the Easter Bunny.

Each day of the week until Friday will be geared toward a specific age group. Tuesday, April 11, will be for 3- to 4-year-olds, with all the good stuff starting at 1 p.m. Wednesday will be for 5- and 6-year-olds starting at 4. Thursday will be for 7- and 8-year-olds starting at 4, and Friday will be for kids 9 and up, starting at 5.

The idea is to separate the ages so the older kids don’t dominate and leave the smaller ones empty-handed.

As each child arrives, he or she will be assigned a color, and they will only hunt for eggs of that color. Most eggs contain little toys, stickers, tattoos and things of the like, but there will be some special prizes, too, including a free birthday party at the bounce house center (valued at more than $200), gift certificates and more.

There will also be a handful of golden tickets hidden in some of the eggs, which will win you a chance in the money box – one of those big, clear boxes in which they blow a ton of cash around and you try to grab as much as possible (we’re told it won’t be real cash, but that real prizes will be awarded).

And, of course, the bounce house will be open for business as usual, even to kids outside the specified age group for each day. Those not participating in the egg hunt will just be asked to clear out of a certain area to make way for the hunters.

Then, on Saturday, the Easter Bunny himself will come down for some pictures and greetings. If you can’t make it Saturday, you can still meet the big bunny in the mall any day up until Saturday during mall hours.

Admission will be the usual $10 per kid, all-day pass.

For more info, call 856-8088.

Kimball Jenkins Eggstravaganza

We’ve told you about ConcordTV’s Easter Eggstravaganza, but don’t miss out on a completely different event with a similar name.

The Eggstravaganza at the Kimball Jenkins Estate – the eighth annual one, to be exact – is a big day of family fun that goes down this Saturday.

The art school, gallery and mansion is no stranger to kid-friendly events, and after seven years of running this particular one, they’ve got things pretty well figured out.

The day will include pictures with the Easter Bunny (who was nice enough to fit this event into his busy schedule), a bounce house, face painting and a big egg hunt.

The day’s festivities are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., with the egg hunt starting at 10:15 sharp.

“You can be late for a lot of things, but don’t be late for the egg hunt,” said Ryan Linehan, managing director at Kimball Jenkins.

The KJ staff have compiled about 3,000 candy-filled eggs by now, so that should be plenty – Linehan said the event usually draws about 150 kids, so if you do the math, that’s 20 eggs per kid.

Like many egg hunts, this one will be divided into two age groups: 5 and under, and 6 and up. The day’s events are intended for children ages 1 to 11, though nobody will be checking IDs (not that 12-year-olds really have them).

Here’s the best part: everything is free.

That’s right – the egg hunt, the face painting (which will be done inside), and the interactions and photos with the Easter Bunny will all be built into the free admission, so you don’t have to bring any cash. You don’t need to sign up or anything either, just show up at 10 a.m. Saturday morning and get ready to hunt.

Just so you know, the Eggstravaganza will go on rain, snow or shine, so be prepared for that.

For more information, call 225-3932.

Grange Easter Egg Hunt

For many years, Concord kids would gather at city parks just before Easter to look for golden eggs that meant they would get a special prize. They would also collect other eggs filled with candy. That tradition ended before last Easter, when funding for the event was deleted from the Parks and Recreation budget.

Dick Patten, master of Concord Grange, asked the Grange members if they would be willing to bring this tradition back, and were they ever.

The group responsible for the annual Christmas parade and lighting the Christmas trees at the State House Plaza, Eagle Square and Heights Triangle is getting ready to welcome the Easter Bunny to Keach Park on Saturday at 11 a.m.

The Grange is getting a hand from Donna Noonan Rabe, who is also lining up volunteers to help monitor the hunt in different areas.

There will be three different age groups for the egg hunt: 2 to 3, 4 to 5 and 6 to 8.

There will be a registration table at the picnic tables by the entrance to the park, Newton Avenue. The event is free for boys and girls who live in the Heights, but no one will be turned away. However, all children must be accompanied by an adult. Once a child finds a gold egg, they must bring it to the registration table.

Patten is hoping to receive more donations of candy for the eggs, so contact him at 496-2917 if you’re interested, or to learn more about the event.