Easter Fest delights with food, fellowship, and 6,000 hidden eggs

Decked in sunshine-yellow t-shirts, dozens of volunteers from the Association of Springfield Area Churches cooked hot dogs and burgers, led games, helped with crafts, and cheered on youngsters searching for hidden Easter eggs at the Easter Fest held at Riverside Park on March 31.


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Easter Fest delights with food, fellowship, and 6,000 hidden eggs BY KAREN ENGDAHL, The Shopper April 3, 2018 eggs Volunteers prepare burgers and hot dogs at Easter Fest. Photo by Karen Engdahl. SPRINGFIELD, Vt. – Decked in sunshine-yellow t-shirts, dozens of volunteers from the Association of Springfield Area Churches cooked hot dogs and burgers, led games, helped with crafts, and cheered on youngsters searching for hidden Easter eggs at the Easter Fest held at Riverside Park on March 31. Crowds of people of all ages enjoyed the outdoor activities and games sponsored by several area churches before entering the school gymnasium for the egg hunt and “bouncy house” attractions. “We hid the 6,000 eggs inside,” explained Rubin Jennings, assistant pastor at the North Springfield Baptist Church and one of the lead organizers of the event. “The field outside is a bit too cold and muddy for the little kids this year.” eggs Rev. Rubin Jennings, event organizer. Photo by Karen Engdahl. “We already have ideas about next year!” added Malcolm Fowler, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church. Fowler and Jennings surveyed the happy crowd and estimated more than 300 people had turned up during the first hour of the event. “We’re so excited about the great response we’ve gotten so far,” said Jennings. Jennings explained that the participating churches spent months in the planning process, emphasizing that all activities needed to be fun and free of charge for everyone attending. “No one is excluded,” he said. “Everything is free, including the food. We want everyone to have a good time. We want people to see that we are working together even though we represent different denominations.” eggs Kids enjoy Bouncy House at Easter Fest. Photo by Karen Endgahl. In addition to staffing the activities on the day of the event, which included stations where people could offer prayer and learn more about the participating churches, volunteers prepared the 6,000 eggs, filling each one with candy, a verse of scripture, and tickets for prize drawings. Prizes, contributed by area businesses, included gift certificates from the Springfield Food Co-op, movie tickets, electronics gear, a Hannaford gift card, and a Boccacio’s hair styling gift certificate, among others. Sponsoring churches included Calvary Baptist Church, the Church of Christ, the First Congregational Church UCC, North Springfield Baptist Church, Precision Valley Baptist Church, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, and the United Methodist Church. Donations were also made by area businesses including Final Electric, Springfield GMC, Spurr’s Repair Service, Willow Farm, Lawrence and Wheeler Insurance, Kelley’s Auto Sales and Service, Springfield Cinema Center, Hannaford, Shaw’s, HB Energy, Cota and Cota, Oriental Palace Restaurant, and the Springfield Co-op.

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