Smyrna and LaVergne celebrated Easter on April 1 with the community with Easter Egg Hunts in their local parks.
When Fire Chief William Culbertson was eight years old, he remembers going to Smyrna’s Easter Egg Hunt when it took place at Smyrna Primary School. That was 53 years ago. This event is a long-time Smyrna Tradition.
This year, as Fire Chief, Culbertson and his staff, working with the Smyrna Police Department, were in charge of the annual Easter Egg Hunt in Smyrna. They scattered more than 900,000 pieces of candy on the ball fields at Lee Victory Park.
More than 800 children participated in the hunt, with the egg and candy gathering taking place by age group. “Golden” eggs were hidden on the field in every group’s space. Kids finding one of these special eggs were able to trade them in for a big Easter basket.
All the candy and the special eggs were gone in about 15 minutes as the kids flew out with bags and baskets onto the field, running on pure joy to gather the starbursts, sweeties and more scattered all over the field. The event was sponsored by the Smyrna Gas Department.
The Easter Bunny was on hand for photos with the kids in Smyrna, and also in LaVergne when they had their Easter Egg Drive-Thru in Veteran’s Memorial Park. From 10:00 a.m. until about 11:30 a.m. cars full of kids had a chance to meet Mr. Bunny, get candy, and have a chance to get a Golden Egg to trade for a special prize basket.
Cars wound through the park with kids hanging out of the windows to collect candy and get a chance to meet with the Easter Bunny.
The drive-thru experience was created in 2021 by LaVergne Parks and Recreation and the Smyrna Library in response to the pandemic, and it has remained popular.
