Duane Hicks
Scott Street certainly was hopping Saturday.
An estimated 400 children flocked downtown for the fourth-annual “Egg-Stravaganza” hosted by the Fort Frances Kiwanis Club and The Shops on Scott.
“It was an awesome day,” enthused Kiwanian Diane Maxey, who was lead organizer for this year’s event.
“The weather was amazing–it was the first time ever,” she added, referring to the event’s poor track record with Mother Nature over its first three years.
“The turnout was tremendous,” added Maxey. “It was a happy, happy, happy time.”
Running from 11 a.m.-1 p.m., youngsters were asked to bring their own basket or bag and drop by the Fort Frances Museum to pick up a map of the nearly 20 participating businesses.
Then they could follow the walking route shown on the map to collect treats from those businesses.
The Easter Bunny was at Lidkea Optometry for photo ops while some other places, like Pharmasave, also had an Easter Bunny on hand.
Northwoods Gallery & Gifts even had actual bunnies out in front for children to see.
The club, meanwhile, served up a barbecued lunch at the corner of Scott and Portage, where they also raffled off bunny cakes.
“We sold out of hotdogs,” Maxey noted. “The barbecue was a huge success.”
As well, the FFHS “Chem-Free” Grad Committee held a bake sale and sold all of their Easter goodies.
In addition to the participating merchants, about 30 other businesses and groups also stepped up in a variety of ways, whether donating funds to help purchase candy or donating prizes.
“Praise to all of the people who sponsored us,” said Maxey.
“You can’t run anything like this unless you have all of that support, and they have been wonderful,” she enthused, noting she’s sure the kids appreciate it, too.
Prizes included a new boys’ bike donated by Flint House and a new girls’ bike donated by T-Bone Consulting.
The lucky winners were Frederick Taylor and Rudi-Lyn Bruyere.
Other prize winners have been contacted (they can pick up their prizes at Green’s Brand Source).
The club also accepted donations of non-perishable food items during “Egg-Stravaganza,” which will be donated to the local Salvation Army food bank.
