Annual event to include games, prizes, photos, food; parents can gauge kids’ development with optional ‘screener’

COVINGTON, Ky. – It’s called the Easter Egg Hunt, but we guarantee that your children won’t have to hunt very hard.

Come Saturday morning, the grass around the bandshell in Devou Park will be strewn with thousands of plastic Easter eggs filled with goodies, and they won’t be difficult to find.

“We typically get some 500 to 600 kids, so it’s probably our biggest event of the year,” said Alicia Chappell, Recreational Program Coordinator for Covington Parks & Recreation. “With a few exceptions, Covington’s event has been going strong since at least the ’80s.”

The free event for Covington kids up to age 12 will also include games with prizes, food, and the opportunity to take pictures with the Easter Bunny.

Screener tool

Parents will also have the opportunity to fill out a questionnaire called Ages & Stages that helps measure their child’s development from 1 month to 5 years of age.

“This is just a checkpoint that helps parents get a feel for their child’s cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development at this stage,” said Mary Kay Connolly, Director of Read Ready Covington, the City’s childhood literacy initiative.

Families can relax inside the Read Racer bookmobile from the Kenton County Library or inside a van from Mercedes Benz of Fort Mitchell while filling out the questionnaire, which helps measure whether children are on track developmentally.

Parents can discuss the results with staff from RRC, the library, EC LEARN, and NorthKey Community Care.

You can sign up by 3 p.m. Friday by emailing mkconnolly@covingtonky.gov, or show up the day of the event starting at 11 a.m.

About the Easter Egg hunt

• Cost: Free.
• When: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, March 23.
• Where: Near the bandshell in Devou Park, on Bandshell Boulevard. For maps in English and Spanish, see MAP.
• Ages: Covington kids up to age 12, split into three different age groups assigned to different areas. The egg gathering itself will begin at 1:30 p.m. for ages 2-4, 1:40 p.m. for ages 5-7, and at 1:50 p.m. for ages 8-12.
• The “loot”: The plastic eggs at the hunt will contain candy and toys, plus one gold-colored goat statue in each age group that will bring a special prize:
• The Easter Bunny: Parents can also take pictures of their children with the Easter Bunny, beginning about 11:30 a.m. (or when the Bunny arrives).
• Games: Will include a partnered Egg Toss (ages 5-11) and an Egg & Spoon Race (ages 5-7 and 8-11), as well as a petting zoo.
• Food: Free hot dogs, popcorn, cotton candy, and drinks will be available.
• Registration: It’s not mandatory, but helpful. Click on “programs” at RecDesk. Registering your family will help Parks & Rec communicate with you via email and/or text about future events, including last-minute schedule changes.

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