Easter – Center for Law, Engagement, and Politics

The Hoppin’, Happening Wynne Home

There is always a good reason to visit the Wynne Home, but that is especially true at Easter, when the Arts Center hosts its annual Easter Egg Hunt.

Every year since at least 2010, the Wynne Home has put on this event, and it has proved to be a big community hit. This year, the event, led by Wynne Home Program Coordinator Angela Robinson, was no different, with more than 100 local residents stopping by for games, arts, food, and, of course, the hunt for Easter eggs.

Although the specifics may change from year-to-year, the basic setup is the same. LEAP Ambassadors arrive at 8:30am, other SHSU volunteers arrive just before 10am, and at 11am, the grounds are open for fun, with various games and activities to occupy the children–and the adults.

This year, these included a Ring Toss…

…Cornhole…

a velcro dart game…

…sidewalk chalk, bubbles, balloon art, an arts-and-crafts table…

…and a spoon race.

Of course, the Easter Bunny was there…

…providing much fun and, thankfully, terrifying few.

After an hour of fun and games, we serve lunch, which consists of hot dogs, chips, cookies, and a drink.

With well over 100 people there, this can pose some logistical problems, but Stephanie–the grill master–kept things moving along smoothly.

And at 12:45pm, the Easter Egg Hunt begins. If you’ve never seen a hundred kids chomping at the bit to get to easter eggs, then you’ve never fully felt danger.

With the help of some wonderful volunteers, however, we were able to prevent bedlam and violence.

The grounds are divided into two areas: 5 and under; and 6 and older–the latter of which is more competitive.

Despite the competition and one-upmanship…

…however, there was a lot of camaraderie and good feelings.

The Wynne Home, with its mission of promoting the arts and community heritage, was a perfect place to host the Easter Egg Hunt. And the volunteers–who consisted of Nancy Ormsby, Lois Stehlik…

Lulu Lopez, Macey Schank, Yajaira Gutierrez Marin, Madison Cawthon, and the six LEAP Ambassadors, did a great job of manning stations. Angela Robinson, with the help of Wynne Home staff members Peyton Conley and Emily Eoff, did a great job of running the show.

Of course, it was great to see SHSU represented, with Dr. Jeffrey Gardner, Dr. Michael Demson, Dr. Jennifer Didier, and Sarah Burchett. And it was great to see so many City staff there, assisting and enjoying the spirit of the occasion.

Or, at least having fun.

Many thanks to the Wynne Home and the City of Huntsville for hosting this event annually. Most important: Happy Easter to all!

A Hoppy, Happy Day: Easter Egg Hunting at the Wynne Home

Every year since 2010, the LEAP Ambassadors have assisted the Wynne Home Arts & Visitor Center with their annual Easter Egg Hunt. This year, the hunt was ably led by Wynne Home Program Coordinator Angela Robinson–along with Wynne Home Director Sarah Faulkner and Wynne Home Admin Peyton Conley–with an assist by LEAP Ambassadors, Pre-Law Society Members, Nancy Gaertner, and the ever-present Lois Stehlik and Nancy Ormsby.

There was all sorts of fun on hand: ring tosses, bean-bag tosses, velcro darts, duck-matching, sidewalk chalking, arts and crafts, a selfie station, bubbles, lunch, jump ropes, and, of course, a hunt for Easter eggs. Also, the actual Easter Bunny showed up.

One crew of volunteers arrived at 9am, helping to hide the eggs and set up games.

Another crew arrived at 10am, putting the finishing touches on the games, and preparing for the inevitable early arrivers.

The arts and craft tables were a hit, perhaps because they were the first tables that visitors saw.

Kids also found the dart game fun, and this proved one of the more demanding volunteer positions, inasmuch as our volunteer (Daniela) was constantly in pursuit of errant “darts.”

Generally speaking, the kids were not great at the duck matching game, which is a kind of mobile “memory.” In this game, ducks float around in a pool of water, and each has a number on the bottom. Contestants should lift one at a time, trying to find a match. Even a good memory may not suffice, because while the contestant is searching, previously uncovered ducks have floated to new locations in the tub. Desiree did a great job ensuring the kids had fun, even when they didn’t understand.

The lunch was a big hit. Hungers apparently developed over the two-hour event, and everyone was able to get a hot dog (or two), chips, a cookie, and water (or Capri Sun).

The highlight, though, was the Easter Egg Hunt. This year, however, there were actually two hunts. We had the primary hunt at 12:10pm, with the Wynne Home grounds divided into sections for younger and older children. The most dangerous spot on the Wynne Home grounds is the space between children and an Easter egg when the hunt is on.

At 12:45pm, we had another hunt in yet another section of the grounds. For this one, young children (6 and under) had a 1-minute head start on the older children, giving them the chance to garner as many eggs.

In all, participants scooped up or otherwise collected some 2,500 eggs!

Although the official festivities ended at 1pm, many stayed to enjoy the ambience and games.

It was another fun and successful event put on by the Wynne Home, and the LEAP Center was happy to assist!

The LEAP Center would like to thank Jocelyn Vazquez, Desiree Rosales, Daniela Luna, Olivia Discon, Michelle Cardenas, Morgan Robertson, Nancy Ormsby, Lois Stehlik, and Nancy Gaertner for volunteering on a Saturday morning to help the community!

Hopping into Spring with the Wynne Home Annual Easter egg hunt!

Heather Barodi

On Saturday, the LEAP ambassadors and volunteers were able to participate in the Wynne Home’s annual Easter Celebration! The event is filled with many games and crafts, such as sand art, face painting, painting magnets, an egg toss, sack races, and more. The event had the added fun of a visit from the Easter Bunny!

Our day started early at 8:30 a.m., when we met with Wynne Home staff Sarah Faulkner, Angela Robinson, and Peyton Conley to assist them with preparations. We hid 1,800 eggs…

….set up the prize tables, the sack race, ring tosses, sidewalk chalk, selfie station, and crafts.

Shortly before the scheduled kickoff, we got an influx of volunteers from the Center for Community Engagement: Sara Burchett, Taylor Morrison, and Bram Sebio-Brundage…

…as well as some of our friends, Isabel Behm and Jocelyn Vazquez.

The Easter bunny made his surprise appearance around 11 a.m. ready to take pictures and even dance with a few ambassadors and volunteers.

The selfie station is always a hit…

…as was the face-painting station.

Everyone was a bit skeptical of the sack races at first, but after a demonstration/ completion between Center of Community Engagement volunteers and LEAP Ambassadors, the lines began forming! The adults might have even enjoyed the sack races more than the children.

After numerous activities, it was finally time for the Easter egg hunt. And when we “opened the gates,” the kids almost ran over us!

After the initial flurry, however, things calmed down and almost all the kids ended up with a bucketful of eggs.

Of course, the crafts table stayed busy, and…

…people also could just relax on the grounds.

Around 12:45 p.m., families were leaving, and kids were getting their last-minute face paint or coloring page. The kids were tired, worn out from their busy morning!

While we were cleaning, the ambassadors and volunteers decided to start smashing the eggs on each other’s heads with the extra ones. Needless to say, there was a lot of confetti tracked into our cars.

The ambassadors and the volunteers would like to thank the Wynne Home for having us help with this event again and we look forward to doing this again next year!

Egg-Hunting on Easter Weekend

One of our favorite annual events is the Easter Egg Hunt at the Wynne Home Arts Center. It involves games, face-painting, and a picnic lunch of hot dogs, which are a whole lot of fun for local families.

This year, more than 200 people came out to the Wynne Home, a number that proved a bit overwhelming to us, especially when they arrived early. Planned by LEAP Ambassador and Wynne Home Intern Beatriz Martinez, we had Musical Chairs…

…Sack Races…

…an Egg-Toss game, face painting (thank-you Lauren Clay!), sidewalk chalk…

…and coloring. We had a great group of Friends of the Wynne on hand, including Patti Davis, Mary McCarley, Wes Boyd, Susan Sanders, Maureen McIntyre, and Buddy Aber. Political Science major Sadie McLaughlin was also nice enough to stop by and help, doing at least five separate tasks over the course of the event!

As much as there was to do, the kids wanted more. Accordingly, we incorporated photos with the Easter Bunny…

…and numerous activities with Sammy Bearkat…

…who occasionally stole the spotlight from the Easter Bunny, even on Easter…

As exciting as those activities were, the kids came to the Wynne Home to hunt for eggs, and they let that be known!

At noon, we kicked off the Easter Egg hunt–more than 1,000 eggs, strewn about the Wynne Home Arts Center. You may have heard stories about shoppers getting into fights on black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. Those folks have nothing on kids at the beginning of an Easter Egg Hunt.

The hunt lasted approximately 9 minutes, with the kids finding them quickly.

Thankfully, no kids were actually trampled on by other kids in the dash for eggs, but it was a close call.

The kids and their parents then moved to the grill, where some 150 hot dogs were available. It was good to see some of the folks there from last year and from some of the other activities we do over the course of the year.

At the end of the event, 3 hot dogs and one bottle of water were left (the sodas and Capri Suns were gone).

And the kids were tired….

…as were the volunteers.

But there were a few sweet kids left, still looking for eggs, armed with the optimism of the young, and the knowledge that more eggs await tomorrow.

Easter Eggstravaganza

By Constance Gabel and Karla Rosales

The LEAP Center recently partnered with the Wynne Home Arts Center to host an Easter Egg Hunt for the entire Huntsville Community. More than 150 citizens from the surrounding area came out for an early Easter celebration on Saturday. Families enjoyed an afternoon full of activities and gorgeous weather. The event featured an egg hunt of more than 800 candy-and-prize filled eggs, coloring, face painting, games, and hot dogs grilled by master chef, Professor Mike Yawn himself. Sammy the Bearkat and the Easter Bunny added to the fun and the Easter spirit by entertaining the crowd with a competitive egg toss.

We started the afternoon with crafty activities for the children. Volunteers from the university’s own Art Department came to help with the festivities by heading up the face-painting booth. Children walked away with butterflies, bunny noses, beautiful hearts, and many other fun creations painted on their cheeks.

Seeing the joy radiate from inside the kids amplified the good-looking art on their faces, while some children were not quite as happy to have sticky goo spread on their skin. Beside the face painting booth was a coloring station where children had the option to draw their own springtime masterpiece with crayons and craft paper.

Following the event, we had a huge canvas full of colorful flowers, bright Easter eggs, and even some well-drawn bunny rabbits as proof of the kids’ creativity.

While waiting for the hunt to commence, kids and adults alike watched as Sammy the Bearkat challenged the Easter Bunny to an egg-toss duel.

Armed with her spirit and spring in her step, the Easter Bunny fought with tosses that could have shocked even the best egg tosser in the business but in the end succumbed to Sammy the Bearkat’s finesse and mighty egg-tossing skills. Although not a winner by the sight of the shattered eggshells and runny yoke on the ground, the Easter Bunny played the loser well and shook hands with Sammy for a game well played, and remained in good spirits as children flocked to her.

Finally, after much anticipation, children of different ages lined up with their baskets and at noon, the Easter egg hunt was off!

Racing to find the golden and silver eggs, the children sped around the back lawn in search of the little oval shaped, plastic goodies. Grabbing and going, they searched and searched until finally, even after much preparation on behalf of LEAP and the Wynne Home, all of the eggs were found. The kids who found the special golden or silver eggs also had the ability to take a chance look at the prize table for an extra goodie to go along with the candy and Smoothie King gift card found in the egg, thanks to the generous donation from Ms. Scott at Smoothie King (1328 Sam Houston Ave!).

Following the egg hunt, the kids and their parents got in line to enjoy a much deserved lunch of hot dogs, chips, some Mayflower Easter cookies and even an ice-cold soda to quench their thirst.

Ending the afternoon right, the willing got to take a picture with the Easter Bunny.

Whether contemplating the perfect pose or continuing with the egg relay games, families stuck around to enjoy the beautiful weather and spring fever floating through the air.

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Special thanks to the Friends of the Wynne, the Art Department, and Laura Scott from Smoothie King for their generous help–not to mention super volunteers such as Bella Abril, Margaret Gulledge, Michelle Hebert, Terry Stivers and Ryan Brim.

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