The Easter Bunny came early to the Barrie Farmers’ Market this weekend.
This was the market’s second annual Easter Egg Hunt, confirmed marketing and operations manager Jaime Grant, telling BarrieToday they had prepared for approximately 400 kids to come take part, and by just after 10 a.m., Saturday, had almost reached that capacity.
Along with a visit from the Easter Bunny, who left plastic eggs at tables around the venue, visitors had the opportunity to peruse the many vendors or take advantage of the free face painting check and children’s activities — before trading in their baskets of brightly coloured plastic eggs for a special sugary treat.
“Everyone is having such a great time. It’s so nice to see kids doing interactive play again,” said Grant.
Natalie Dance and her daughters, Savannah and Amelia, came to check out the local vendors this morning, and were excited to see the infamous big-eared bunny.
“We were just coming out to the Barrie Farmers' Market and then they had the Easter egg hunt and these kids are very excited for Easter,” said Natalie.
The sisters had visited every table at the market before handing in their baskets and claiming their sweet surprise, and were very excited to wake up Sunday morning and look for any potential treats left behind by the furry friend.
Kate McNamara and her family moved to Barrie about eight months ago. She told BarrieToday they were extremely excited for the long weekend, which also included a visit from family.
“We are pretty pumped to see the Easter Bunny. We’ve spotted him … and Easter is our favourite. It’s very exciting,” said Kate McNamara, who, along with daughter, Lucy, had managed to find 10 of the hidden plastic eggs with hopes to find even more.
Getting chocolate eggs, said Lucy, is the best part of the holiday. Although chocolate eggs definitely top Kate’s list of reasons to love Easter, her favourite part is getting to spend time with her family, who were visiting from Vancouver and California.
Erin McNamara and Tiago Sanchez were visiting from San Francisco, and were having a great time during their first trip to Barrie for Tiago’s first Easter.
“This is amazing. There is so much cool stuff. I love all the local vendors,” she said.
Meaghan Ferrier brings her two-year-old daughter, Emma, to the market every weekend.
“There’s lots of good vendors, lots of good activities," said Meaghan Ferrier.
The Easter egg hunt, added Emma, was “super fun.”
Mother and daughter managed to find five of the brightly coloured plastic eggs hidden around the market, telling BarrieToday they both love Easter.
Emma’s favourite thing about Easter, she said, was finding eggs left behind by the Easter Bunny.
“He’s going to come to my house tomorrow and do the hop, hop!” she exclaimed.
