On Saturday, April 3 Word of Life hosted its annual Eggstravaganza, for Sand Springs, the surrounding communities and church members. It was a beautiful day for an outdoor event starting with the 40-foot, multi-colored balloon arch that lined the entrance.

Word of Life Children’s Church puppet mascot, “Barry the Bear” and other cheerful greeters welcomed nearly 700 attendees with sweet smiles and even sweeter candy. Emcee, “Bobby-Joe,” complete with bunny ears kept the entertainment and laughter flowing with jokes and hilarious antics. Drawings were held for various prizes, such as gift cards, gift certificates to local restaurants and retailers and a $25.00 money card. The audience was all too pleased to have a chance to win.

Bounce Houses and a 30-foot slide were a huge hit with the children. The petting zoo was another crowd-pleaser with a 10-foot Albino snake, a large turtle, and baby kangaroo. Painted faces were common throughout the crowd due to the popular Face Painting booth.

An Easter celebration just would not be complete without the Easter Bunny. Eggstravaganza’s very own “Jammin’ Easter Bunny” entered the property in his bright yellow Hummer. After impressively jamming on his drum set, throwing candy to everyone, “Jammin’ Easter Bunny” took pictures with the children.

One of the highlights of the day was the huge Easter Egg Hunt for over 3,000 brightly colored eggs previously hidden throughout the 20 acre property. The children were divided into age appropriate groups each with their own sectioned off area: Nursery, Toddlers, Preschool, K-5-First Grade, and 2nd-5th Grade.

Many parents walked holding their little ones to scope out eggs and give their kids a great first-time experience in Easter Egg hunting. Other parents relived their rich Easter egg hunting memories, and sprinted with their kids to see if they could be the duo to retrieve the most eggs. Inside many of the eggs were prize-slips redeemable at the Eggstravaganza Prize Booths for candy rings, Bibles, footballs, bracelets, and chocolate bunnies.

The smell of food was in the air, as everyone received a free hot dog and bag of popcorn. In fact, except for the concession stand, the entire two-hour event was free to the community and church members.

Eggstravaganza was well worth it. By the time the last hot dog was eaten, the last bag of popcorn consumed, and the last picture taken with “Jammin’ Easter Bunny,” five children had given their hearts to Jesus Christ.

We invite you to experience Word of Life’s Eggstravaganza 2011. Plans are already under way to hand out over 5,000 cards to local schools. So, be sure to arrive early.