Activities provide kids with favorite holiday tradition

By Matt Bewley | The Daily Journal

Published Friday, April 6, 2007

Fergus Falls children will have plenty to enjoy this Easter with both Westridge Mall and Kmart putting on Easter activities Saturday.

Kmart starts the day off at 8 a.m. with its annual egg hunt. Scattered throughout the electronics and home and garden departments will be eggs that children can grab and take to a table in the men’s department to redeem for a free bag of candy and entry into the prize drawing.

“We don’t really hide the eggs, so the little kids have a chance, too,” Kmart People’s Coach Gail Kolle said. “The drawing is at 10 a.m. We’re giving away a bicycle, a basket full of toys and candy, worth about $45, a giant stuffed Easter bunny and an MP3 player.”

The store has been holding the event for 15 years.

“Gary Abrams, who used to manage the store until just a few years ago, started it,” Kolle said. “When he left, he made sure I’d keep it going as long as I could.”

Just as Kmart’s celebration is ending at 10 a.m., Westridge Mall’s annual Easter Eggstravaganza is kicking off.

“We know that it’s going to be really cold out,” Jenny Stumbo of the Westridge Mall management office said, “So we’re not going to be hiding the eggs. But we will have giant inflatables and an obstacle course for the kids to have fun with. There will also be six different make-and-take paper craft projects for the little kids.”

This Easter, the mall promises a new attraction.

“A new thing we’re doing that’s totally different is ‘Fun and Funky Hair,’” she said. “It’s a group we hired. Kids can get glitter in their hair, get mohawks and pigtails and really outlandish hair. We know parents will want their kids to be looking good for Easter, so it all washes out.”

The cost is just $1.

The Easter bunny will be at the mall from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., and Stumbo offers one bit of advice.

“Bring a camera.”