The 2023 Easter Egg Hunt

We have a rich history of grand Easter Egg Hunts in South Cornelia. Read on for all the details!

The Overview

Whether you’re a candy-craving child, picture-taking parent, or just enjoy kids romping around the park, we have something in store for you starting at 10:00 a.m. on April 8 at Arneson Acres Park.

We’ve hit our 150 kid limit already!

For the Egg Hunters

All we need from you is to be mostly awake with your eyes open and with a parent/guardian. Then you’re ready to score some sweet treats and other goodies inside all the unique eggs you find.

That’s right. You get your own set of unique eggs that only you get to search for!

When: April 8 from 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Where: Around much of Arneson Acres Park
What to expect: A bunch of eggs hidden just for you. Come a little early and you might meet the Easter Bunny!

Special Notes:

Keep good track of your eggs and what’s inside. We’ll need the eggs back for future egg hunts and we don’t want the Easter Bunny to have to clean up things that land on the ground.
We promised the City of Edina we’d stay out of the flower beds in the park. So help us keep that promise!
To have the most fun and get the most treats, it’s important to listen to your Parade Guide (a.k.a. your parent/guardian) about staying safe.

For Parents and Accompanying Adults

We know you can help us all balance safety, fun, and exploration! What do you need to know so you can guide a child and enjoy the festivities yourself?

When: April 8 from 10:00-11:00 a.m.
Where: Around most of Arneson Acres Park
What: Meet at the patio area outside the Edina Historical Society building by 10:00 am. We’ll give your kid(s) their bag to collect eggs and point you to the right starting line.
Bonus: Whenever you’re done with the hunt, consider sticking around the park, patio, and building to socialize afterwards. Bring a snack to share if you like, but that’s totally optional.

Anticipated Questions and Attempted Answers

Who can participate?

It takes a lot of work to put this event together. And because we have limited labor and don’t have thousands of unique sets of eggs, we’re keeping the participant lists to those who live around South Cornelia, Lake Cornelia, Lake Edina, and a few hand-selected people or areas.

Do I have to sign up in order for my kid(s) to participate?

You sure do! We won’t know to hide eggs for your kid(s) unless you tell us you’re coming and some details about your family. The deadline to register is March 30 or whenever we get to 150 sign ups, whichever comes first, so we have time to put everything together.

Also, you’ll know you successfully signed up if you get an email confirmation from our Google form with the info you submitted. If you didn’t get a confirmation email, check your spam folder or know that the form wasn’t completed properly.

Why do you have a 150 kid limit this year?

There are a few reasons for limiting sign ups to 150 kids. The biggest ones are:

We had 133 kids in 2022 and the sheer number makes the event prep require a lot of time and volunteers. If we add too many more kids, the demand on volunteers and the complexity of the prep process will increase too much.
We’re using less space at Arneson Arces this year than we did last year. We had too many unfound eggs last year – and some sad kids as a result. Limiting the egg-hiding space will make it more fun and less frustrating with the tradeoff that we can’t pack as many kids into the space. We’d rather pack the eggs tight than the kids. 🙂

How can I contribute egg fillers, financially, or volunteer?

Anyone is welcome to contribute to our hunt! There are four main ways to do that:

Donate individually wrapped candy or small toys 1.5 inches or less in length by March 30. We’ll likely have 150 kids, but we don’t need to have that many of the same thing. We’ll even sort out the goodies by age group. 🙂 Please drop off at Marie Johnson’s house, 7137 Cornelia Dr, Edina, MN 55435 by March 30. There’s a bin on the front bench of her house for easy drop off. If you’re dropping off between March 17-25, leave the egg fillers at Joel Zaslofsky’s house instead, 7124 Heatherton Trl.
Donate financially to offset Marie Johnson’s out of pocket costs via Venmo, @Marie-Johnson168, or PayPal at saumson@gmail.com.
Donate financially via our partner, Edina Community Foundation. You can make a tax-deductible donation to the SCNA via ECF and add special instructions if you want your money to go to something specific like the Egg Hunt.
Volunteer your time between April 4-8 to prepare eggs, hide eggs the morning of the hunt, or coordinate during the hunt. Even if you don’t have any kids participating, you can volunteer in the sign up form.

How can I help with the pre- and post-event coordination?

We have thousands of plastic eggs to stuff with goodies and the same number of eggs to clean and put back together for next year’s Easter Egg Hunt. A good 2024 hunt starts the moment the 2023 hunt ends, so contact Marie Johnson if you want to help in some way and didn’t already specify in the sign up form.

How can I be a good guide for the kids I'm responsible for?

Stay directly with the kids you’re in charge of to:

Ensure they take only the unique set of eggs assigned to them.
Make sure they don’t eat anything from inside the eggs until they’re done gathering all the eggs. That way, we don’t lose eggs for future hunts and keep the park clean. 🙂

I'm driving to Arneson Acres. Where do I park?

There are two parking lots west of the Edina Historical Society building, right here. If no parking spots are available, try to park on the street at West Shore Drive to the east or Larkspur Lane to the southwest.

Where and when do I check in?

You’ll need to check your kids in by 10:00 a.m. in order for them to not miss out on any fun. To check-in:

Meet at the patio area outside the Edina Historical Society building by 10:00 am.
Find a friendly check-in volunteer.
We’ll give your kid(s) their bag to collect eggs and point you to the right zone in the park based on their age.
Walk to that zone with your kids.
Wait for the check-in volunteer to do a ten second countdown right at 10:00 a.m.
Watch all those kids scatter like mad to find their eggs!

What else is happening besides the hunt?

Just because kids have found their eggs doesn’t mean the fun has to end. Stick around the patio, building, and green space at Arneson Acres to socialize with some other neat adults and share some simple food.

It’s totally optional, but feel free to bring something to share (e.g., muffins, Rice Krispie treats, or a veggie platter). We’ll let the sugared-up kids run around while the adults entertain their taste buds and minds.