The Grand Old City will not be the only place for local children to get their springtime sugar fix in Saturday morning.

The Cass County Parks and Recreation Department, along with The Friends of the Cass County Parks, will host the annual Spring Egg-stravaganza at Dr. T.K. Lawless Park from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. that day. Admission to the park, located at 15122 Monkey Run St., Vandalia, will cost $2 per person.

The park will be abuzz with family-friendly activities during the event, including:

• An inflatable slide

• Face painting

• Wagon rides

• A bonfire

• A petting zoo, courtesy of Cassopolis’ Mesko Farms

• Pictures with the Easter Bunny, along with Miss Cassopolis and her court of honor

New this year, the parks department will set up a 40-foot zipline near the parking lot. The activity has been a hit at Lawless’ annual Harvest Fest the last two years, so the department decided to bring it to the Easter event, said parks director Scott Wyman.

“It will be an action packed three hours, that’s for sure,” Wyman said.

The highlight of the morning, though, will be the Easter egg hunt, which will take place in the park’s field. A hunt for children ages 2 to 4 will take place at 11:30 a.m., and one for children 5 to 10 will take place at 12:30 p.m.

The department plans to plant around 5,000 eggs to scavenge for, the director said.

“We usually put enough eggs out there so each kid gets around 20,” Wyman said. “It’s all soft candy, too.”

The parks department purchased the eggs from Ayers Family Distributing in Georgia, a company that hires people with disabilities to fill plastic Easter eggs with candy, Wyman said. The department has used the firm since they began the Spring Egg-stravaganza around 10 years ago, the director said.

Although the event began as a nighttime event — children had to use flashlights to locate the eggs during the hunt — the department moved the event to the morning several years ago to allow children and families to enjoy warmer daytime weather, Wyman said.

The event draws between 250 to 350 people every year, Wyman said. The department will use proceeds from the event to pay for additional events and programs at the county’s parks.

While Lawless is one of several places in the county hosting Easter egg hunts in the area in the coming weeks, Wyman said what makes the Spring Egg-stravaganza is the scenery of the Vandalia park grounds. With flowers just beginning to bloom, the park paints a lovely picture for the eyes this time of the year, for both children and adults to enjoy, the director said.

“I don’t think a lot of people realize how beautiful our [county] parks are, especially Lawless,” he said.

For more information people may contact the parks department at (269) 445-4456 or email Wyman at scottwy@cassco.org.