The Towns of Newburgh and New Windsor welcomed the Easter season with their annual Easter egg hunts for families and friends. Residents enjoyed a day filled with fun, treats and community.

The Town of Newburgh hosted its egg hunt on the hillside at Chadwick Lake Park on Saturday, March 23, despite rain and lower temperatures, Town families and recreation staff enjoyed a fun morning with pictures with the Easter Bunny and took home eggs and treats for the day.

Families were welcomed to the town’s recreation offices and were greeted by Parks Commissioner James Presutti, Assistant Recreation Director Jason Szeli and other recreation staff. As families made their way inside the venue, they waited patiently in line for a picture with the Easter Bunny, who was seated in a magical Easter wonderland and greeted children with high fives and hugs.

“It’s a great day. Even with the rain, we’re able to put something together to give the kids at least a little bit for Easter,” said Presutti. “My staff is second to none. I’ve always said that and I’ll continue to say it.”
“To see the joy on the children’s faces is why we’re here. It’s exciting to see them jumping around and hopping around,” said Szeli. “I don’t see a face without a smile on it.”

After taking several pictures and saying goodbyes, kids were able to get bundles of eggs and other treats to take home with them to enjoy for the Easter holiday. Despite the rain, families still came out to enjoy a day with one another.

“I think they did a really good job bringing it inside, even with this not so great weather. And they’re very organized and I think it is so sweet that they’re putting this together so the kids have something fun to look forward to,” said parent Michelle Funk.

“We’re really excited to be here. I think it’s a nice event that the town put on for all the families and the kids,” said parent Natalie Barber. “The Easter Bunny was great and there’s little gifts for the kids. I think all of our children are really happy.”

The Town of New Windsor hosted their annual egg hunt at Kristi Babcock Memorial Park on Sunday, March 24 with clear skies and a slight breeze in the air. The previous day was filled with rain but the fields for the hunt were dry enough to continue the event.

Upon arrival at the park, families made their way to the field areas where the eggs were laid out to be collected for the hunt. Bubbles could also be seen floating in the air as children ran around and played. Chocolate bunnies, donated from the Alps Sweet Shop, were distributed to families and the Easter Bunny took pictures with the kids.

“This one [Easter event] is so family friendly and town oriented and it’s really good to see the town supervisor out here supporting all the kids and handing out chocolate bunnies,” said Klairen Bohr. “I just want to say Happy Easter and everyone love each other because we are all each other has.”

Families started to line up along the outer area of the fields close to start time. Recreation Director Matt Veronesi welcomed families to the event and recognized the town officials and additional supporters of the egg hunt. According to him, 4,000 eggs were put on the field that day.

“With all the rain that we had yesterday, obviously, we were a little worried how muddy it was going to be but you know what? The fields dried out nicely, and we had a great turnout,” said Veronesi. “It’s [Easter] all about family and spending time and that’s what we love doing in New Windsor and elected officials give us that ability to bring families together.”

Veronesi directed each group, starting with the 3- to 5-year kids and then the 6- to 8-year olds. With the starting sound, kids raced onto the fields and collected as many eggs as they could.

“This is a wonderful event and just big shout out to the rec department for all the work that they’ve done,” said Councilman Charles Broe. “This is just great. We need more events like this, but I really want to compliment the town. They do a terrific job here.”

As the egg hunt concluded, kids made their way to the playgrounds to play, an egg relay race was held for the older kids to compete in and families conversed and said goodbyes, concluding another successful egg hunt event.