Ken and Shirley Baker cruise down Main Street in a make-shift bunny mobile during the 2011 Easter Eggstravaganza. This year’s annual Easter festival is being held on Saturday, April 7. Photo supplied.
For the 17th year in a row, the annual Easter Eggstravaganza is hopping into Osoyoos on Saturday, April 7.
“It allows the community spirit to show, that’s for sure,” said Nancy Katerenchuk, president of the Osoyoos Festival Society. “It’s a time when everybody can get together and enjoy the day. That’s our main intention.”
The day’s festivities, which usually draw about 2,000 people, will kick off in town square with a $5 pancake breakfast hosted by the Osoyoos Lions Club at 8 a.m.
The breakfast runs until about 11 a.m.
Starting at 10 a.m., there will be an Easter egg hunt held at the field in front of the Osoyoos Elementary School for children ages 11 and under. Katerenchuk said the children are separated by age, giving both young and older children a chance at finding the eggs, one of 3,500 to be exact.
The hunt lasts as long as it takes for the kids to find all the eggs, usually 30 minutes or so.
“They disappear very quickly,” said Katerenchuk with a laugh.
After that, Katerenchuk said everyone is invited back to town square where they’ll have a ton of games and activities lined up for the children.
“We got a bouncing machine, carnival games, face painting, a fish pond and a whole bunch of stuff like that,” said Katerenchuk.
“It’s mostly centered for the children. It’s their time. The festival society works really hard to make sure we have things for the kids, to keep them entertained.”
In addition to all the fun games and activities, the volunteer fire fighters of Osoyoos will also be taking part in a head shaving event from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. in order to raise funds to fight cancer. The firefighters also sell hot dogs and pop, with all the funds being donated to support the fight against cancer.
“It’s an excellent fundraiser for the firefighters, that’s for sure,” said Katerenchuk.
There will also be vendors set up along Main Street as well as other various forms of entertainment throughout the morning and early afternoon. Finally, there is also a “bike and trike” decorating contest being held at Smitty’s Family Restaurant, starting at 12:30 p.m., where kids can decorate their bikes for prizes and ribbons.
To cap off the day’s festivities, the annual Easter parade will be held at 1 p.m., featuring different floats from various businesses and organizations all over town.
Katerenchuk admitted she’s a little concerned going into this year’s parade because there have not been as many entries compared to previous years. She thinks perhaps the weather is playing a factor, but said she accepts parade applications right up until 12:30 p.m. on April 7, so hopefully it fills up by then.
“We’d like to keep the parade going … to keep it a part of the Easter Eggstravaganza.”
Anyone interested in joining in the parade or wanting more information on the Easter Eggstravaganza can contact Katerenchuk at 250-495-4008 or pick up a parade form from the Osoyoos Times office.
