Spring has arrived and Easter is on its way. The residents, volunteers and staff of Blue Ridge Therapy Connection and Landmark Center are busy preparing for their Community Easter Egg Hunt. The event will be held rain or shine on Saturday, March 26, from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m., at 105 Landmark Drive.
Dee Dee Via, activities director with Blue Ridge Therapy Connection, and Belle Pendleton, activities coordinator with Landmark, have been meeting and coordinating with grounds keeping, maintenance and housekeeping staff to bring a fun-filled day to the community and to the residents of Blue Ridge Therapy Connection and Landmark.
It makes the residents feel good to fill the Easter eggs. Since the first of March, residents of both facilities have been stuffing eggs with candy donated by the staff. They have also been actively coloring eggs and making centerpieces. There are contests for residents as they color or dye eggs and paint egg-shaped jewelry boxes.
Hand-bell choirs in both buildings have been practicing for their performance at the egg hunt. Blue Ridge Therapy Connection residents have been planting pansies on the patio and Landmark residents have been working in the greenhouse, which will be open during the egg hunt and will soon be open for the season.
More than 3,000 eggs are being stuffed in readiness for the egg hunt. Six of the eggs designated for each age group are special golden eggs containing $1. According to Via, different age groups will have different egg-hunting times. Ages 1-5 will have 1,500 eggs, and ages 6-12 will have another 1,500. While one age group hunts eggs, the other group will be invited inside for refreshments.
The theme this year is “Easter Egg Hunt in Peter Rabbit’s Garden.” Fences will be put around the gardens, along with life-sized cutouts of cows, a calf, a pig and a sheep. There will be a bouncy house and a piñata for the 250 to 300 children expected to attend.
Refreshments will be served in the recreation room by volunteers and staff members. Residents’ arts and crafts will also be showcased. Peter Rabbit will visit, and will pose for pictures with children of all ages. Peter Rabbit will also walk hallways to visit residents who are not able to attend the egg hunt.
Blue Ridge Therapy and Landmark have also reached out to the residents, their families and community with other recent Easter activities. On Thursday, March 17, a community choir comprised of several churches came to sing for residents, their families and the community. On Monday, March 21, children from Step Inc. visited the facility to find Easter eggs the residents hid for them.
Additional Easter events include an Easter Communion for residents and their families, on Good Friday, March 25 at 10:30 a.m. in the Landmark craft room. At 2 p.m., an Easter celebration will be held in the game room. Plus, on Easter Sunday, staff members will deliver candy-filled eggs to residents.
