Hop on out for Easter activities

LIMA — If its springtime fun you're looking for, this weekend offers plenty of activities to keep everyone in the family busy.New this year, a Community Easter Egg hunt will be offered from 2 to 5 p.m. today in Martin Luther King Jr. Park on Cedar Street in Lima. Sponsored by the Ebony Queens of Lima, the event is the first of many for this newly formed group.“When we were kids we had Easter egg hunts. On the south end of Lima, many parents don't have the transportation to take their kids to some of the hunts going on in the area. I remember when I was a kid going to hunts at the Salvation Army — hunts that no longer exist. So, we're hosting this event,” said LaShawnda “Sassie” Hurley-Williams, president of the group.“We have put our money together and we've gotten donations to offer some fun activities and prizes to the kids,” she said. Along with the egg hunt, open to youngsters 4 to 11 years, there will be kickball, basketball, sack races, egg races, and food.“We want to do something for the community,” Hurley-Williams added.For a different kind of fun, head to St. Marys where the annual St. Marys Bunny Trail runs from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Saturday. There, Jeremy Holtzapple says the free event includes a variety of local stores hosting bunny-related events. Highlights of the festivities include an Easter egg hunt in Memorial Park, bunny crafts at Arts Place and pictures with the Easter Bunny at Kroger or the St. Marys Living Center. The event will end at Cooks Gym, where games, movies, and four bikes will be given as prizes.And the granddaddy of all Easter events, the Ellis Family Easter Dinner, opens for its 21st year from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Easter Sunday at Veterans Memorial Civic Center. This year's menu includes ham, potatoes, beans, rolls and a beverage.Instead of accepting food donations as has been done in the past, Kleet Ellis is asking that anyone interested in donating food give it instead to a food pantry of their choice.Other weekend Easter events include:• Lincoln Park: A community Easter Egg hunt, sponsored by Forest Park United Methodist Church, starts at 10 a.m. Saturday. All ages invited. • Market Street Presbyterian Church: An Easter Egg Hunt for all ages today and Saturday at the church, 1100 W. Market St., Lima. For 12 to 17 year-olds, the hunt begins at 7:30 p.m. today. Participants should bring a flashlight, bag of chips or a 2-liter pop. For children up to 11 years old, activities start there at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. After that, adults 18 and older can get in on the hunt.• Putnam County District Library's Leipsic Branch: The program, “Easter Celebrations” starts at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Leipsic library. Prizes, crafts and games. Bring your camera for pictures with the Easter Bunny.