This is the start of Holy Week, heading into Easter.
Hundreds and thousands of keiki and their families flocked to two big spring and Easter events on Saturday hosted by Hope Collective and the Kukui Grove Center.
“Easter is for church,” said Greg Honnold, connected with Operation Christmas Child and volunteering with Hope Collective for the helicopter Easter Egg Drop. “People need to get this part of Easter out of their system so they can spend time with keiki at church on Easter.”
Melissa McFerrin Warrack, the special events coordinator at Kukui Grove Center, said the Spring Festival is an opportunity for the shopping center tenants to become involved while celebrating the Spring Equinox that took place on March 19.
“Easter is a time for families, and stores have an option of not opening on Easter,” McFerrin Warrack said. ‘This Spring Festival is a time the tenants can interact with their customers and shoppers. This is also a lot of fun.”
Over at the Vidinha Stadium soccer fields, more than 70 volunteers from Hope Collective spread out more than 12,000 eggs for young Easter Egg hunters. That total reflects the additional 1,000 eggs being dropped by Keoni Garma and Airborne Aviation to pepper the field of colorful prize-filled plastic eggs.
Those colorful bearers of sweet prizes carried an Earth Day and reuse tone as young volunteers, and Pastor John Cabello of Hope Collective encouraged the egg hunters to recycle the plastic orbs so the church can reuse them for next year’s drop.
“We love this community,” Cabello said. “We are trying to bless as many people as we can.”
Over at Kukui Grove, the appearance of Peter Rabbit and friends only teased the things that will take place during Holy Week.
The Bunny House, which is offering shopper free photos (you supply your own camera or smart phone) with the bunnies with the keiki getting a free Easter Egg at a rate of one egg per visit, will be open during the Kauai Ukulele Festival that will be presented on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
The Sheila Bradley Book and More pop-up book shop located next to K+M will shadow the Bunny House and will be open at the same time the Bunny House is open.
Toddler Tuesday, normally held on the first and third Tuesday of the month, will have the Easter Bunny leading the popular dancing that will include a special event at the Keiki Korner keiki play area this Tuesday.
Easter wraps up on Saturday with the monthly movie night where the Showtime Characters will be available along with other special events hosted by the shopping center, including the K+M market with more than two dozen craft vendors.
