By Ed Simmons, Jr.
cpreporter@lcs.net
Hundreds of eager Easter egg hunters, hundreds more than expected, turned out for the Adults Only Easter Egg Hunt Friday evening at the Meadow Event Park. "I would've been happy with 300," said Cindy Matern, president of the Caroline Chamber of Commerce, sponsor of the event. As it was, she was thrilled 900 to 1,000 showed up.
"Everybody had a great time!" she said. "It was a fun adult party. We will definitely do it again." A past Chamber president, Bowling Green mayor David Storke, was also astounded at the crowd. "Never in my life have I seen so many people at a Chamber event," he said. Sheriff Tony Lippa was impressed too. "This was about twice what we expected," he said. He provided extra deputies, and no incidents were reported. "We hid the eggs in the huge gorgeous boxwoods in front of the mansion," said Cindy, 3050 of them, then scattered them down to the fence at Route 30. Most were filled with candy but 93 had numbers that won prizes, including a 32-inch flat screen TV and gift cards, even one for Raven's Restaurant in far-off Virginia Beach.
"Next year it's going to be bigger and better," said Cindy, vowing also to iron out some glitches that included a premature start on the Easter Egg Hunt and long lines for food and drinks. Glitching too was a radio station not showing up, but singer and DJ, Wick Coleman saved the day and had everybody dancing and singing. Next year there'll be more volunteers, more security and more vendors, Cindy said. Also the event will move to the Farm Bureau Pavilion which has much more room.
A romantic moment came during the prize announcements when Cindy's son Brandon opened up a surprise egg, grabbed the microphone and proposed on bended knee to his girlfriend Rachel Anderson, a sixth-grade teacher at Caroline Middle School. "Thank God she accepted!" said Cindy. Most of the proceeds from the event will help fund scholarships which the Chamber donates each year.