On a chilly Saturday afternoon, some 500 people gathered at North Park in Franklin Park to collect a portion of the 10,000 treat-filled, colorful plastic eggs as part of the Park District of Franklin Park’s annual Easter egg hunt.
Candy and at least 200 coupons donated by Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers restaurant was stuffed in the eggs. At 11 a.m. Saturday, participants were allowed to run onto the field to collect eggs, and by 11:05 a.m., all of the eggs were gone.
“Our goal with this event is really just to bring family, friends and neighbors together. We do have fun candies, prizes, and Raising Cane’s coupons inside of those eggs, so it really is just to bring people together,” said Park District spokeswoman Catherine Saponieri.
Maxwell Dabriel, left, opens the Easter eggs he collected with his parents Randy and Andrea Dabriel, March 23, 2024 during the Easter egg hunt at North Park in Franklin Park, hosted by the Park District of Franklin Park. (Kaitlin Mikrut/Pioneer Press)
The Easter bunny made an appearance March 23, 2024 at the Park District of Franklin Park annual Easter egg hunt at North Park in Franklin Park. (Kaitlin Mikrut/Pioneer Press)
After families removed the treats from the colorful, plastic Easter eggs they hunted for March 23, 2024 as part of the annual Park District of Franklin Park event, the emptied eggs were recycled. (Kaitlin Mikrut/Pioneer Press)
The egg hunt is considered a local tradition that residents and non-residents can come to and enjoy. It was the district’s first time working with Raising Canes for the event, she said.
A flashlight hunt for teenagers was held the night before. Attendees of either event who found a golden egg could win one of 12 prize baskets filled with jump ropes, chalk, bubbles, candy and more.
Liz Strack, the Park District program and aquatics manager, also helped to organize the Easter egg hunt.
“I love doing the special events and seeing the community come together. I made the baskets for the events. The baskets were geared more so to getting the kids outside, playing and being creative. There’s some craft projects, bubbles, and jump ropes just to get the kids active and outside, which is again, one of the Park District’s missions,” said Strack.
Amongst the crowd were Franklin Park residents Randy and Andrea Dabriel, and their son, Maxwell.
“This is our first time coming to this event. We’ve gone to other events in Franklin Park and we know that they have a great family atmosphere. We love coming here, so we thought we would try out the Easter bunny egg hunt,” said Andrea Dabriel.
Maxwell collected several eggs and said he thought the event was “so good.”
Franklin Park resident Tony Rivas said he’s been attending the hunt since 2019.
“It’s a fun event for the kids, you get to hunt for the eggs, and see everyone you know,” said Rivas.
After the hunt finished, participants emptied their treat-filled eggs, recycled them and had an opportunity to take pictures with the Easter bunny.
“We’re very happy to host this as the Park District and it’s great seeing so many families, neighbors and friends come out to enjoy this Saturday morning with us,” said Saponieri.
Kaitlin Mikrut is a freelancer.
