Despite temperatures in the 50s and the looming threat of rain, the Easter Bunny still made its presence known in Port Isabel Saturday for the 4th annual Port Isabel Lighthouse State Historic Site Easter Egg Hunt on the grounds of the lighthouse.
With over 25,000 Easter eggs filled with candy and toys, the event was popular with local and visiting families, with people lining up over an hour before the 10 a.m. start time.
The event wasn’t exactly a traditional egg hunt but a culmination of a week-long Easter event with over two dozen local businesses in the city distributing eggs to the public.
Visitors to the lighthouse may have wondered where event staff could even hide thousands of eggs in such an open area.
The answer is they didn’t.
“It’s not much of a hide. It is more like an egg scramble, but we found it’s a great backdrop for an event like this,” said Valerie Bates, Marketing Director for the City of Port Isabel and Manager of Port Isabel Lighthouse State Historic Site.
Concerns about possible issues due to rain kept event organizers on their toes this year, with the Mayor of Port Isabel Martin Cantu Jr. on the phone at 1 a.m. with City Manager Jared Hockema about whether the weather might spell an early end to the egg hunt.
Even with cloudy skies, the public turned out for the event, allaying his concerns.
“It’s great that the people are still coming out,” Cantu Jr. said.
While waiting in line, Diane Salines made the most of the festivities, getting a photo of her children June, Maks and Zak with the Easter Bunny as the holiday mascot worked its way down the line. With June just 2 years old, Salines said this is her first Easter egg hunt and enjoyed getting to see what she made of it.
“She just knows that the Easter Bunny brought her a basket, and she’s going to look for eggs,” she said.
On standby were June’s brothers to help her dispose of the burden of all that Easter candy she’ll get today.
“They are already ready. They know their roles,” Salines said.
Once the clock ticked over to 10 a.m., the hunters lined up along the green.
Then, with the Easter Bunny’s signal, they ran for the eggs. It took less than 20 minutes, and the hunt was over. Children happily lay out on the lawn, investigating their spoils while others waited in line for a visit, and photo, with the Easter Bunny.
In line, Baltazar Uribe and Janine Martinez waited with their sons Santiago, 2, and Mateo, 4, with their two Easter baskets piled high with plastic eggs. Martinez found the event on Facebook and thought it might be a fun new experience for the boys to go to Port Isabel for their traditional egg hunt.
“Probably should have brought a bigger basket, but they did pretty good,” Uribe said.
To see more, view Brownsville Herald photojournalist Denise Cathey’s full photo gallery here:
Photo Gallery: 25,000 Easter eggs at 4th annual Port Isabel Lighthouse event
