One Easter egg at Alpine’s Children’s Nature Retreat Foundation will contain two Disneyland Hopper tickets. Their egg hunt will be held April 20.
Additionally, the Bethel Christian Assembly will host their egg hunt, carnival and pancake breakfast the same day, April 20, at the Joan MacQueen Middle School.
“This is our third Easter egg hunt,” said Agnes Barrelet, executive director of the retreat. “We will have 400 eggs; I had to stuff 144 of them.”
Other than the Disneyland egg, the rest of the eggs will contain the traditional candy, toys, or stuffed animals.
The Easter bunny will be available for cell phone pictures. Barrelet’s Easter bunny, to get photos with, is a real, white rabbit named Easter.
“I found him three years ago, the day before Easter” near the retreat, she said.
What the 20-acre retreat that houses 120 domesticated livestock and exotic animals, opened in 2015, offers that is different than other egg hunts is the opportunity to have a picnic lunch and watch zebras, ostriches, and camels. Children’s Nature Retreat Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
One of last year’s attendees, is not only a member, but likes the opportunity to feed the animals.
“I like the place for an egg hunt because you can feed all the animals—a zebra, camel, ostrich, cows, and horses,” said Chula Vista resident Becky Niemiec, who will be taking her 4-year-old-grandson to the event this year.
“They had many plastic eggs to find all over the property,” said Niemiec. “We are members and follow them on Facebook and saw their post about it.”
While Niemiec’s grandson will have the opportunity to have age-appropriate stuffed eggs, her own children jumped to the money-in-the-eggs stage rather quickly.
“Once our children were older, probably middle school, jelly beans didn’t cut it,” she said speaking about her private egg hunts. “That’s when we started putting money in some of the eggs.”
According to Niemiec the retreat’s egg hunt is not a stampede or frantic egg hunt.
“It was very calm, people walked and looked through the grass,” she said. “It was very good.”
The egg hunt is not eggs scattered in a cordoned off area.
“There will be easy finds and more difficult ones in the grass, trees, and behind rocks, and all over the retreat,” said Barrelet. “The price is $25 for adults and $15 for ages 2-12. Below 2 is free.”
The foundation’s egg hunt starts at 10:30 a.m. and participants are advised to bring their own baskets. Admission to the park, the picnic lunch is additional, is required to participate. Reservations are requested.
Visit www.childrensnatureretreat.org/easter-egg-hunt/ for more information.
More Easter eggs are to be found at the Bethel Christian Assembly’s event.
“This is our ninth year,” said Greg Roedell, pastor. “There will be 25,000 eggs, bounce houses, carnival games, a cake walk, pony rides, and more. The event is free but the egg hunt is strictly for 12 years and under.
“There will be an early bird pancake breakfast from 8:30- 9:00 a.m., while supplies last,” said Roedell. The egg hunt starts at 10 a.m.
Visit: www.alpinebethel.org for more information.
