The Great Media Easter Egg Hunt

Mar 27, 2012 by Stephanie

The Great Media Easter Egg Hunt is Glen Providence Park’s longest-running event… the Egg Hunt has been held on the Sledding Hill annually since 1954!  The pre-hunt anticipation is captured in this 1963 Chester Times photograph, captioned “Anxious hunters prepare to stalk their prey – Easter Eggs – at Media Jaycees’ Annual Hunt”.  As far as we know, the Egg Hunt has run continuously for 58 years!

And Easter has been celebrated in Glen Providence Park even farther back than that: Easter Sunrise Services were held in the park from 1947 through at least 1950… at 6:30 am(!).  The park guard would plant flowers specifically to bloom for Easter Services!

The Media Jaycees, “the United States Junior Chamber”, started the Easter Egg Hunt in 1954, and they continued it to at least 1975.  While there is a gap in newspaper coverage, as far as we know, the Media Jaycees ran the event until about 1989.  Around 1990, the Media Business Authority took over the organization of the Egg Hunt, which they continued for almost 20 years.  In 2008, long-time event sponsor the Media Lions Club took over the event with  McCarrin Chiropractic as the sponsor- this is their 5th year organizing the Egg Hunt.

Running this event is no small task- it involves filling and hiding over 4,000 eggs!  Volunteers also clean debris- and of course there is the traditional visit from the Easter Bunny to coordinate.  Articles show that there were once “golden eggs” hidden, with the lucky finders getting special prizes… one long-time resident told us the grand prize was once a bike!

Thank you to the Media Business Authority, the Media Lions Club and McCarrin Chiropractic for their years of work to continue this wonderful community tradition!

Experience it this weekend:

The 2012 Great Media Easter Egg Hunt at Glen Providence Park!
Main entrance on State Street
Saturday, March 31, 2012 at 11:00 am
Rain date: Sunday, April 1, 2012 at 1:00 pm

2013 Update:
Saturday, March 23, 2013 at 11:00 am
Rain date: Sunday, March 24, 2013 at 1:00 pm 

2014 Update:
Saturday, April 12 at 11:00
Rain date: Sunday, April 13 at 1:00

2015 Update:
Saturday, March 28 at 11:00
Rain date: Sunday, March 29 at 1:00

While it is the longest-running, the Egg Hunt is just one of many events that have been held in the Glen Providence Park through the years- including fireworks, Haunted Woods, and fishing derbies!  Read more in our article 76 years in the park: the Swamp Man, pie eating contests & more!