City hosts Eggstravaganza at Central Park

More than 2,000 people attended the first Eggstravaganza Easter egg hunt since the pandemic at Central Park on Saturday.  

The egg hunt, which lasted 10 minutes, was held on the soccer fields in the south end of the park. The attendance was so large, all the parking lots were filled and cars lined up on Bouquet Canyon Road for over a mile.  

Despite the parking issues, attendees seemed to have enjoyed the event and were happy that such a large crowd was able to gather for the first time in three years.  

“It was really good, really exciting. On my end, it was very fun because my 5-year-old hasn’t been able to do any of this,” said Maciel Casillas, a mother and Santa Clarita resident. “My older one got to experience this before the pandemic and now the little one gets to do it. So I am really happy that he gets to experience it. They’re still young, even though they [had] to miss those two years.” 

The egg hunt was organized into four locations, by age group, which seemed to be appreciated by the parents.  

“It was fun. I love how they organize it by age, and I love how they try to make it inclusive for everybody,” said Georgina Gonzalez. “We did it the first year right before the pandemic happened, so we were kind of bummed we didn’t get to do it for the last couple of years. But it was really good. It was fun.” 

Gonzales said it was also a great opportunity for her son, who’s home schooled, to finally get to interact face-to-face with other children and families after such a long time without much.  

“It feels nice to kind of get back to a little bit more of normalcy. He’s home-schooled, so this is like his social interaction,” said Gonzalez. “So it was nice to come out. We know some people that also came out and brought their families here. It’s nice to see everybody and everybody having fun.” 

Although the event was short, there were some activities to keep people around, such as prize wheels and a photo opportunity with the Easter Bunny.  

Easter Splash at the Santa Clarita Aquatic Center  

Kids and parents were also offered an alternative to the Central Park hunt, but this one had an aquatic twist.  

Also being held for the first time since the pandemic, the Splash-&-Dash egg hunt was held from 9 a.m. to noon at the Santa Clarita Aquatic Center on Saturday. Like the Central Park hunt, the hunt was organized in sections by age group.  

Eggs were strewn about the edges of the pools but also hidden atop the structures of the park, like the slide, and floating around in the water.  

Parents at this event also seemed happy to be in a somewhat pre-pandemic environment.  

“It’s nice. It’s nice to be able to put that behind us and move on with life,” said Corey Shere, parent and Santa Clarita resident. “Seems like it should be fun, the kids are excited.” 

The staff as well seemed equally enthused to have things back to normal.  

“The first session went great. We had a bunch of kids fall through their age groups, got their eggs, and then they had a nice chance to go and play in the water afterwards,” said Michael Hernandez, pool manager of the aquatic center. “We are happy to host these events again, as long as it’s safe for everybody. So we’re glad to be back up and rolling.”