This Saturday is Fort Thomas’ annual Hunger Games Spring
Egg Hunt sponsored by the Fort Thomas Recreation Department.  This year, Knox is in the 4-6 age
category which is wonderful because he had perfectly mastered the 1-3 category
after last years’ two-egg, three-meltdown showing.   This is no fault of the event; it is a wonderful
event, tons of fun, great community, and executed well.  I think this is the fault of me as a
parent for not instilling in him that killer instinct needed to get an egg or
two out of the 14,000 that will be strewn throughout Tower Park at noon.  Granted, there will likely be 35,000
kids so hopefully “may the odds be ever in your favor”, as they say.  For those of you with outgoing
children, never fear, you’ll barely be able to carry your basket full of
eggs.  For those of you with, well,
more reserved children like mine, below is your guide to surviving the
“reaping”:

1.    
Do not
stand in front of the fire trucks– You’ll arrive at a quarter to noon, in
plenty of time to line-up, completely forgetting that some people show up at
4:00 am (a week earlier).  However,
one spot where you can stand at the front of the line is wide open and you
think, “This is too good to be true! 
Crowds are eight-deep everywhere else but if I just stand here by the
fire truck, my kid is first.”  This
seems like a good idea but until your child is knocked to the ground with the
sound of 1,000 sirens (actually just one, but it is a loud one) as the fire
truck signals the start of the hunt. 
By the time he has recovered and stopped crying, not only are all the
eggs gone but so too are the people and the Rec department is prepping for the
Pumpkin Walk!

2.    
Bring
your own Basket- This may seem obvious but when you arrive you need a
basket to collect the 3 eggs you find. An empty Fort Thomas Coffee cup worked,
but not quite as well.

3.    
Maybe
bring your own eggs- The Hunt will last approximately 2.3 seconds at which
point in time your child will look up at you and think what just happened? If
you’re able to toss a few eggs in the woods to keep your kids busy for a few
more minutes, it’s well worth it. Although, make sure to box out any other
similarly disappointed children! 
This is no time to worry about “the village” that it takes to raise
someone else’s kid, after all. 

4.    
Bring
friends- This is something you don’t want to experience alone.  No therapist will believe you when you
tell them your child was trampled by a throng of candy-starved 3 year olds so
you’ll need eyewitnesses.  Plus,
maybe your friends can push a couple egg-hoggers out of the way and grab an egg
or two for your little one.

5.    
Walk
don’t drive- Parking is always a nightmare. I find that we typically are
walking from our front driveway anyways so you should just leave the car and
walk up.  And did I mention that we
live past St. Catherine’s?  Yeah,
still walk!

6.    
Brush
your kids up on their ninja skills– You think I am kidding? I’m pretty sure
a 4 year old almost took me out last
year; now imagine the damage a 6-year old could do!  I’m wearing my soccer shin-guards for sure.

7.    
Do not
visit the Easter bunny- I thought this would be a win-win for everyone. A
consolation prize of sorts.  “Hey,
I know you didn’t get any eggs but you can pose for a picture with a
stranger.”  Shy kids always like
that, right?  Last year, mine asked
why he could see a person inside of the mask of the bunny.  I told him that the Easter Bunny ate
little children that didn’t participate in the egg hunt so he could have enough
energy to leave Easter eggs all over the world.  So, that could be why Knox didn’t want to sit on his lap,
come to think of it. 

In all seriousness, this is one of my favorite events.  Fort Thomas does such an exceptional
job with keeping up community traditions ranging from parades to pumpkin walks
to this awesome all-community egg hunt. 
It takes an army of volunteers to plan the event, stuff eggs, execute
the event, and make sure that we as families have a fun and memorable time.  It is a lot to take in for young ones
due to the crowds so be sure to prep them on what to expect, but it is a time
well worth having.  I expect to see
everyone there this Saturday and if you see my son on the bottom of a pile of
egg-hunting children, he is strategically plotting his next move!  I’m sure he’ll be fine, right?

The Spring Egg Hunt is this Saturday April 19th,
at 12pm at Tower Park.  1-3 year
olds by the Mess Hall, 4-6 Year olds on the Baseball Field, 7-8 Year Olds on
the Main play area. 14,000 eggs– 900 prizes- Face
Painting-Refreshments- Pictures with the Bunny.  See you all there!

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