At special needs Easter egg hunt, kids will be kids

It was difficult to tell whether the Easter Bunny or Darth Vader was more popular with the crowd that turned out Saturday for the third annual special needs Easter egg hunt at Life Center North Church.

Lines formed for each costumed performer, but the excitement level was higher for Vader, who was accompanied by a Storm Trooper and Kylo Ren. Lena Bent’s 5-year-old son, Mason Bond, was particularly taken by the trio, but Bent said he’s never seen Star Wars.

“He doesn’t know who they are,” she said. “He just likes them.”

Mason, who has autism, was also introduced to Shorty, an Appaloosa horse who lost an eye to a tree branch when he was 2. Shorty was part of a well-attended petting zoo and stood calmly, soaking up the stroking and petting.

Bond seemed hesitant for a moment, then reached out and stroked Shorty’s velvety nose before dashing off. It was the first time he had been near a horse, his mother said. “He loves animals,” she said.

Bent said she was happy to find an Easter egg hunt that caters to children of all abilities. When her son got overstimulated playing in the bubbles coming from a bubble machine, no one seemed to mind.

“It seems like everyone is pretty accepting,” she said.

The special needs egg hunt got its start three years ago when the church had a reverse offering, giving envelopes of money to members with instructions to do something good with it, said Ronda Swanson. That’s when her Bible study group got the idea to put on an Easter egg hunt for kids who might be left out at traditional egg hunts.

“We looked around,” she said. “There was nothing like this around here.”

Children could browse among the eggs scattered across the grass behind the church whenever they wanted. There were sections of toy-filled eggs, others with candy-filled eggs and an area for children in wheelchairs. There were special “reacher” sticks to allow the kids in wheelchairs to grab their own eggs.

“Our goal is to give kids a moment to be kids,” Swanson said. “They’re all the same here.”

In addition to the eggs and the petting zoo there was also face painting, crafts and free coffee for adults.

Tanasha Alderson brought her 2-year-old son, Noah, and the rest of her family to the event. Young Noah has four congenital heart defects, an airway defect and is fed through a tube. She said she appreciated that there was a section where he could pick up toy-filled eggs and not worry about getting candy he can’t eat.

“This is really special for him,” she said. “We’re feeling very grateful that they’re doing this.”

She was also grateful that there wasn’t a shotgun start for the egg hunt that sent hundreds of excited kids dashing off all at once. “The other events are hectic,” she said. “He can’t tolerate the sound and people crowding around him.”

Instead Noah could use his “reacher” stick to grab an egg and lift it high as he sat in his wheelchair, beaming proudly at his accomplishment while his parents and siblings looked on.