Tonya Bolte holds a punching glove for Haddie Wilhelm during the taekwondo demonstration.
Second-grader Haddie Wilhelm knew right away her favorite part of Saturday’s Easter egg hunt.
“That inside there was a lot of candy,” she said.
Her strategy for finding her approximate 31 eggs was to “go fast.”
Wilhelm was one of about 150 kids to take part in the citywide hunt Saturday afternoon at the Rec Center as kids of all ages got the opportunity to collect colorful, candy-filled eggs.
Forge Martial Arts owner Tonya Bolte, who organized the event, said her team planted over 4,000 of the plastic eggs on the gym floor. The eggs were filled with candy, stickers, toys, prizes, free training sessions and more.
“I found out that normally the community has hosted one in the past, so I was trying to see if and when they were going to do theirs so we didn’t mash over and found out that there wasn’t one planned, so I said, ‘Let’s make this big. Let’s open it up to the whole community; not just our taekwondo school,’ so that everybody could have some fun,” Bolte said.
Wilhelm, who is a student of Bolte’s at Forge, stuck around for the free taekwondo lesson after the egg hunt. The event also provided an opportunity for games, prizes and a photo session with the Easter Bunny.
Wilhelm’s mother, Kayla Wilhelm, said the event is a great opportunity for kids to get together, particularly after the pandemic.
“It makes it that much more special, ‘cause it’s been a hard couple years, obviously, through COVID, and not having these community events that Eudora is kind of known for, so it’s nice to see everyone together again in this type of atmosphere,” she said.
Kayla Wilhelm said she and Haddie always look forward to community events and appreciate Forge’s efforts.
“Thanks to Miss Bolte and the Forge family. They put on great events and they always have a strong community involvement, which is important,” Wilhelm said.
Bolte said Forge plans on continuing its citywide Egg Hunt in future years.
Reach reporter Emily Binkley at [email protected].
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