By Brian Owens, Reporter
On a cold and windy Easter Saturday the Easter Bunny arrived in unusual style – hovering low over the ground in a red helicopter as hundreds of colourful eggs tumbled to the grass to be recovered by a horde of children and exchanged for treats.
The event, held at Giddens Memorial Airport in St. Stephen on Apr. 4, was organized by Bernadette Cunningham. She began working on the event after seeing a video of an egg drop on Facebook last Easter and thinking it would be fun to recreate it in this community.
“I wanted to change the conversation, there’s been too much negativity lately,” she said. “I wanted something real for people to talk about in a positive way.”
There was music and facepainting to entertain the kids as they waited for the bunny’s arrival. Once the helicopter was safely on the ground around 300 children scoured the lawn at the airport to collect more than 8,000 eggs, and exchanged them for treat bags containing candy, small toys, and a toothbrush. Volunteers double checked that no eggs were left behind.
The sold-out event involved more than 30 volunteers, and was sponsored by several local businesses and the Municipal District of St. Stephen. Ron Fournier of Flying 2C Helicopter Tours provided the helicopter. Cunningham hopes it can become an annual event.
“We need more things to bring people together and make us smile,” she said.
