SYCAMORE – The sun peeked through the clouds just in time for the Community Egg Hunt on Saturday at Sycamore Middle School.
The free event, hosted by Crossroads Community Church of Sycamore, was sponsored by more than 30 local businesses. It included fun fair games, food, giveaways and an egg hunt for children ages 3 and younger, and up to fifth grade. The event also featured a photo-op with the Easter Bunny.
Jesse Valasek, the youth group leader from Crossroads’ Sycamore church, said the church chose to host the event because of its need and mission to give back to the community.
“Our church is all about community,” Valasek said.
Valasek said that this was the church’s first time hosting the event, and it received a good amount of support throughout the process.
“We’re here to help the community,” he said, “and we have over 30 vendors that are helping us.”
Families who attended the event enjoyed being able to participate in a local family event that included all ages of children and teens. Although the egg hunt was only open to children up to fifth grade, the food and games were available to adults and teens as well.
“It’s fun to be a part of something cool with the community,” said Mike Wittrup, 39, of Sycamore. “I think the kids had a lot of fun, and I think it was organized very well.”
Other local parents said they enjoyed coming to the event for the first time, and would like to attend the event again in the future.
“It’s a nice opportunity to do something with the kids in the community,” said Riley Oncken, 38, of Sycamore. “This is the first time our family has been to this. ... It seems well organized. ... I like that it’s separated by age, and it seems like they have a lot of great volunteers.
“It’s a great family event.”