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Springtime fun at Elk Grove Regional Park
  
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By Linda Le Park - Citizen Staff Writer
A sunny sky and warm weather greeted attendees at this year’s Cosumnes Community Services District’s Spring “Egg”stravaganza event at Elk Grove Regional Park on March 22.
In addition to egg hunts, guests at the event had many activity choices, including a booth about bees, a planting station and a petting zoo.
“It was wonderful,” Heather Shortino, the CSD event coordinator, said. “We had 7,500 Easter eggs and we ran out.”
The Sacramento Area Bee Keepers Association’s booth was led by Ron and Debra Melluish and had a hive of bees on display. Honey was available for visitors to taste while being educated about the value of bees and the recent disappearance of the bee population.
“I think the main thing is how important bees are and how they need us to leave them alone,” Ron said. “[Bees] are interesting, they are cute, they are fun, but without them we would have to go to a pre-Columbian diet.”
He said that 30 percent of the human diet is dependent on the bee population.
People crowded around the booth to look at the bees, which also included a queen bee and drone.
“Kids love to see the bees, well, everybody does actually,” he said. “They really enjoy finding the queen. Everyone wants to find the queen.”
The planting station, hosted by the Gardeners of the Grove Club (GOTG), was another big hit with visitors. Children planted soybean, cucumber, gourd and radish seeds that were donated by Capital Nursery.
“They are coming by in the tons of kids,” Lorrain Radke, a member of GOTG, said. “They are just loving it, and the parents are getting a kick out of it too.”
GOTG is a new club in Elk Grove, and this is its first time at the “Egg”stravaganza.
“We are trying to do community service as part of our club,” Mary Ellen, GOTG club member, said. “This is our first project.”
The petting zoo was also a big success. Children lined up to play with and pet the animals, which included a donkey, pony, calf, sheep, turkey, goats, bunnies, baby chickens and geese.
Twelve children were picked in the “Egg Drop” raffle. They were given bubble wrap, duct tape and cardboard to wrap around a raw egg.
After the eggs were wrapped, a fire fighter dropped the eggs from the top of a fire truck ladder, which was 105 feet. Children screamed, “Drop it!” to the fire fighter as he dropped each egg.
Only two of the 12 eggs broke, but prizes were awarded to all of the children.
The 12 children were Bryan Taylor, 12; Michael Yonnas, 10; Yaphet Girmai, 8; Melanie Chuong, 8; Ciana Perez, 8; Andrea Rodriguez, 7; Jonathan Rivera, 7; Arianna Abeyta, 5 and Isaac Bartlett, 7.
“It had a great turnout,” Shortino said.
The event turned out to be a hit, for both children and parents.
“It was really well planned,” attendee Shannon Heidemann said.
“This is a little bit more enhanced than it has been in the past, plus the weather is nice,” attendee Roger Spieler said. “They didn’t have the petting zoo last year.”
Of all the comments, there was just one small complaint from attendee Deborah App.
“They need to get more eggs for next year though,” App said. “They ran out for a lot of the groups.”
The great weather made the event enjoyable for everyone who attended, much nicer than last year’s overcast skies.
In addition to egg hunts, guests at the event had many activity choices, including a booth about bees, a planting station and a petting zoo.
“It was wonderful,” Heather Shortino, the CSD event coordinator, said. “We had 7,500 Easter eggs and we ran out.”
The Sacramento Area Bee Keepers Association’s booth was led by Ron and Debra Melluish and had a hive of bees on display. Honey was available for visitors to taste while being educated about the value of bees and the recent disappearance of the bee population.
“I think the main thing is how important bees are and how they need us to leave them alone,” Ron said. “[Bees] are interesting, they are cute, they are fun, but without them we would have to go to a pre-Columbian diet.”
He said that 30 percent of the human diet is dependent on the bee population.
People crowded around the booth to look at the bees, which also included a queen bee and drone.
“Kids love to see the bees, well, everybody does actually,” he said. “They really enjoy finding the queen. Everyone wants to find the queen.”
The planting station, hosted by the Gardeners of the Grove Club (GOTG), was another big hit with visitors. Children planted soybean, cucumber, gourd and radish seeds that were donated by Capital Nursery.
“They are coming by in the tons of kids,” Lorrain Radke, a member of GOTG, said. “They are just loving it, and the parents are getting a kick out of it too.”
GOTG is a new club in Elk Grove, and this is its first time at the “Egg”stravaganza.
“We are trying to do community service as part of our club,” Mary Ellen, GOTG club member, said. “This is our first project.”
The petting zoo was also a big success. Children lined up to play with and pet the animals, which included a donkey, pony, calf, sheep, turkey, goats, bunnies, baby chickens and geese.
Twelve children were picked in the “Egg Drop” raffle. They were given bubble wrap, duct tape and cardboard to wrap around a raw egg.
After the eggs were wrapped, a fire fighter dropped the eggs from the top of a fire truck ladder, which was 105 feet. Children screamed, “Drop it!” to the fire fighter as he dropped each egg.
Only two of the 12 eggs broke, but prizes were awarded to all of the children.
The 12 children were Bryan Taylor, 12; Michael Yonnas, 10; Yaphet Girmai, 8; Melanie Chuong, 8; Ciana Perez, 8; Andrea Rodriguez, 7; Jonathan Rivera, 7; Arianna Abeyta, 5 and Isaac Bartlett, 7.
“It had a great turnout,” Shortino said.
The event turned out to be a hit, for both children and parents.
“It was really well planned,” attendee Shannon Heidemann said.
“This is a little bit more enhanced than it has been in the past, plus the weather is nice,” attendee Roger Spieler said. “They didn’t have the petting zoo last year.”
Of all the comments, there was just one small complaint from attendee Deborah App.
“They need to get more eggs for next year though,” App said. “They ran out for a lot of the groups.”
The great weather made the event enjoyable for everyone who attended, much nicer than last year’s overcast skies.
