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This article originally appeared here
The usual quite, serene New Orleans Museum of Art all changed on Mar. 12. The pristine lawn became the site of dancing, joyful laughing and merriment, pet petting and more as the museum hosted its annual egg hunt and family festival.
As the children dodged around seeking eggs, the event itself dodged all the rain that soaked the grounds in the days leading into the hunt.
The museum, its staff and volunteers were prepared. The egg hunt changed to an egg scavenger hunt, but all other planned activities continued in the expanded four-hour long event.
Easter finery was the fashion of the day, from rabbit ears to chapeaus, to bow ties and white linen suits, to frilly dresses and princess dresses, to big bows and rain boots all the young ladies and gents were dressed for the event.
This was not your ordinary front yard hunt that we are all familiar with. Back in the day my cousin’s and I hunted in grandma and grandpa’s yard in Edgard. There we ran and pushed and pulled to gather the brightly colored, individually wrapped sugar eggs.
Here, the almost 2,000 plastic eggs were filled with, what else, individually wrapped candy.
The hunters had various methods. Some stopped to open eggs at once to feast on the contents, while others tried to fill their baskets first. At one of the hunt stations, the hunters had a choice of a bank or a book, so it was more than just the candy. In addition to plastic eggs traditional Elmer’s Heavenly Hash eggs that satisfied the “sweet tooth” of even the adults in attendance.
Co-chairs of the event were Liz Wood and Genevieve Douglass. Wood commented that this event was “a lot of bang for your buck,” while Douglass added, “every year this event gets bigger and better.” Advanced tickets were only $10 for members or $12 for non members.
Although some may have been deterred by the weather, almost 1,500 tickets were sold, they said.
Eggs weren’t the only attraction.
The kids enjoyed chatting with and taking photos with the Elmer bunny; Alice and the Mad Hatter and Curious George. Breakfast and lunch snacks including hot dogs were served as well as Pinkberry yogurt.
The longest line seemed to be for the petting zoo, but equally enjoyable were the juggler and magician, art activities, photo booth, various games and the music by a DJ as the kids hit the “dance floor” right in the entrance foyer of the Museum. Young Bryce Walker, a 5-year-ol from Destrehan, was spotted doing the “chicken dance, while his sister 21-month old Alyse Walker tried her hand at spinning plates. The duo are the children of Jarrett and Amy Walker.
“The kids favorite was the petting zoo, but the dance floor was a close second,” Mom Amy said.
Speaking of the zoo, the animals were out in force. There were rabbits, chickens, a baby alligator and a tortoise. Another hit was the face painting. The beautiful faces of the children were accented by their artfully painted faces, butterflies and rabbits and more.
We’re not talking just a little something on the cheek, but full-faced designs.
It was more than just a hunt, it was truly a festival in the museum, and a wonderful accent to the Easter season.