As spring weather softened its blow over the Easter holiday, Trenton residents were greeted with a trip from the Easter Bunny a day early. The Bunny’s travel route through the city began at Trenton Fire Headquarters on Perry Street. It proceeded along MLK Jr. Blvd., Clinton Ave., Hamilton Ave., Broad St., Pennington Ave., Stuyvesant Ave., and Hillvista Blvd., before reaching Cadwalader Park at 11:30 a.m.
Kenneth Douglas, the Fire Director of the Trenton Fire Department, said that they got delayed throughout the ride as they stopped to hand out candy and greet residents. “That’s okay, community service, that’s our job. We’re here to serve the community and actually be there when they need us. We always love to interact with the children and people around town,” Douglas said.
The Easter Bunny, and its entourage, was greeted at Cadwalader Park with cheers from kids and parents excited to start the main event: the 101st Easter Egg hunt hosted by the Trenton Kiwanis Club.
At the helm of the event was Mike McCormick, a member of the Kiwanis Club, who was celebrating his 25th year of putting the gathering together.
“This is the 101st Annual Great Egg Hunt of Trenton and Kiwanis Club has been here at Cadwalader Park every Easter with a few minor exceptions for things like the pandemic… over the years have been 1000s of Trenton children who have come here to meet the Easter Bunny and have a lot of fun,” McCormick said
Kids were able to hunt for thousands of eggs across the park hidden by the Trenton Recreation Department and the Trenton Kiwanis Club. The event’s sponsors include Trenton High School Jr. ROTC, Science Mentors One-to-One, New Jersey Firefighters Mutual Benevolent Association Locals 6 and 206, Erb’s Garage of Windsor, NJ, the Trenton Zonta Club, BJ’s and Wegman’s Market Princeton. During the hunt, there were three special golden eggs where children had the chance to win a bicycle or cash prizes.
The Recreation, Natural Resources and Culture Department helped by adding face painting, a bouncy house, and a petting zoo for Trenton Families to enjoy. Maria Richardson, Director of Recreation, Natural Resources, and Culture, said that events like this make Trenton great.
“Our city is as rich as the opportunities you offer for people to come together. And for me, it is extremely important to have events where adults and kids…people of different ethnicities can come in, and that’s how you build community,” Richardson said.
Throughout the city of Trenton, spring was in the air. Crystal Feliciano, Community Activist, explained that this is what Trenton looks like when it is at its best. “This is what it’s all about,” Feliciano said. “Today is a great day in the city. Not only just here with this Easter egg hunt, but there’s hunts and giveaways everywhere…that’s how it should be, right. Everybody should be out and about. They should feel safe in their environment where they are having a good time celebrating life and each other.”
