City hosts third annual Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt

By Kris Leonhardt

Editor

STEVENS POINT – The Stevens Point Parks, Recreation, and Forestry Department is hosting its third annual Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt – an event born out of the COVID-19 environment.

“The Easter Egg Scavenger hunt was created as an alternative activity to the longer-running Easter Egg ‘Hunt’ in 2021 – this year that event is called Easter Egg Hunt on the Square. Due to the pandemic, we wanted to offer families an outdoor, contactless spring activity,” explained Anne Hylla, Parks, Recreation, Forestry programs & facilities supervisor.

“That first year the event was in Iverson Park and received overwhelmingly positive feedback. Those who participated loved seeing parts of the park they hadn’t been to. Others liked learning more about the park history through the clues. Skyward, Inc. was a sponsor of the event from the beginning. Their generous donation allows us to buy awesome prizes. We have prizes of recreation equipment of all kinds as well as gift cards to area businesses.

“It took people approximately two hours the first year to complete the scavenger hunt and bonus clues. That amount of time was a bit much for the younger children. Last year, in Bukolt Park, we tried to have the hunt be completed in roughly an hour. Aside from switching locations each year to feature a different Stevens Point park, the formula has been the same.”

On March 24, the first clue was released on the department’s Facebook page – www.facebook.com/stevenspointparks – directing participants to Mead Park.

At Mead Park, an egg can be found displaying a clue to be solved leading them to the next location.

At the final location, participants take a photograph and send it to [email protected] to be

entered to win a variety of prizes.

There are seven eggs hidden throughout the park system, along with three bonus eggs.

The Easter Egg Scavenger Hunt runs until April 9, with the drawing held on April 11.

 “Our goal is to host a fun, outdoor activity for residents of all ages. Having the Scavenger Hunt around spring break and the Easter Holiday works well as the weather turns to spring and folks are ready to get outside. We love showing off our different parks to those who may not be familiar with them. The Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department works hard to maintain and offer several types of park spaces. A major benefit of the hunt is for people to enjoy new park experiences within their community,” Hylla said. For more information, contact the Stevens Point Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department at (715) 346-1531