Easter Bunny Visits Manchester Campus
Ciara Knisely
The Easter Bunny visited campus on Saturday, April 22 for Manchester University’s 23rd annual Easter Egg Hunt, organized by East Hall.
Volunteers from East filled over 1,500 striped, spotted, animal-print and zig-zagged plastic eggs with candy, stickers, small toys and temporary tattoos.
Children from the community were especially glad that Peter Cottontail paid a post-Easter visit to campus. The green grass and bushes were sprinkled with eggs wherever children looked, and both the Easter Bunny and Manny, the mascot, wandered around during the event, taking pictures with eager children.
The event was held in the area between East and Garver residence halls, which was divided in half with designated sides for children ages 1-6 and 7-12. Special Easter basket prizes were waiting for lucky egg-hunters who found slips of paper in an egg.
The free event was a hit with the kids. "When I was looking for eggs, I saw so many I thought I was gonna have one million pieces of candy!" yelled one young boy.
The egg hunt coincided with Lil Sibs’ Day, though all children from the community were invited to attend, giving the event an even larger turnout. Eggs were dropped on nearly every inch of grass between Garver and East, and children could be seen throughout the morning looking for eggs and helping fellow egg-hunters in their own quests for goodie-filled eggs.
Sophomore Samantha Bontrager brought her two younger brothers, Isaac and Jacob, for both the egg hunt and Lil Sibs’ Day. The treats inside their eggs were “incredibly wicked” and “super amazing,” according to Bontrager’s brothers. As a big sister, Bontrager said she loved being able to see her brothers have fun.
Sophomore Ekta Saini also participated, bringing her younger brother Dave. “I found my favorite candy in the eggs: Butterfingers!” he happily announced.
“We don't usually get to go to things like egg hunts, so this was a fun change,” Saini said. “I'm glad Manchester does events like this, so I have more chances to spend time with my siblings even when I'm at school.”
Similarly, junior Alivia Banks brought her younger brother, Mason. “My favorite eggs were the ones with smiley faces on them,” he said. Banks loved being able to spend some quality time away from home with her brother.
Junior Katie Brown enjoyed taking the three children that she babysits for: Henry, Maggie and Jayne, to see her school, and they could be seen giggling and running around campus after collecting eggs. “I never want it to end!” said Maggie with a mouthful of chocolate.
“It’s like a second Easter,” Jayne added.
“I already know they’re not going to eat lunch because of all the candy they got,” said Brown with a laugh. “But now they definitely love Manchester. Future Spartans for sure!”
There were also various games and activities for the children after they finished their egg hunting, including cornhole, chalk drawing and ladder golf.
In order for the event to be such a success, East Hall Council members put in hours’ worth of work, according to sophomore Dylan Walker, a Resident Assistant in East and member of East Hall Council.
“[East Hall Council] acquired student volunteers and assigned them jobs ranging from working the registration table to wearing the Easter bunny costume,” Walker said. “Not to mention the countless hours filling over 1,500 Easter eggs with different candies and chocolates.”
East Hall Council takes great pride in putting on the community-wide event, though members may never want to see another egg again after filling so many. “Giving back to the community and working with the children was a great experience for the E-board members and the volunteers,” stated Walker.