Residents to celebrate Easter in the Park Saturday

ALAMOGORDO — Residents can hop over to Washington Park from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. to enjoy festivities during the 30th annual Easter in the Park Saturday.

Easter in the Park, hosted by the city of Alamogordo in conjunction with Burt Broadcasting, is a long-standing tradition in the community. In 2017 about 3,600 residents attended the event, which was an increase of about 600 attendees from the previous year.

"We're going to have about 25 businesses out there, providing a lot of fun games for the kids to celebrate Easter – ring toss, cornhole and fishing games," said Special Events Manager Kerry Uribe. "It's a great opportunity to spend time with your family and celebrate the Easter holiday." 

Kicking off the event is the annual non-motorized parade at 10:15 a.m. The parade will consist of decorated bikes, scooters, wagons and children in costumes. The parade will be judged in the age categories of newborn to 3 years old, 4 to 6 years old, 7 to 9 years old and 10 to 12 years old. Best decorated in each age group will win a new bike, courtesy of First National Bank.

"We only have a few entries in the parade so far," Uribe said. "You'll get to walk behind the Easter bunny in the parade and everybody will get to see how the kids dress up, decorate their bike or whatever they'd like to do." 

Registration for the parade is free and can be completed this week at the Sgt. Willie Estrada Memorial Civic Center, 800 E. First St. Registered participants must be checked in no later than 10:10 a.m. on Saturday. 

The parade route starts at the Washington Pavilion parking lot and follows down Washington Street to the main stage. To accommodate the parade route, Washington Avenue will be closed to traffic from Mountain View Avenue to First Street. 

Parking will be available at the Boys and Girls Club of Otero County, 201 Dale Scott Ave., and in the grass area between the Boys and Girls Club and the park.

Following the parade, the children's Easter egg hunts will be from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Children will be placed in different lines based on their age and groups will hunt down eggs for the possibility of winning an Easter basket, courtesy of First National Bank.

"In the kids Easter egg hunt, they get to pick up five eggs a piece," Uribe said. "There's one prize egg on the whole field per round and it'll have a special Easter bunny sticker on it. If they get that egg, they get to trade it in for a big Easter basket." 

Following the children's egg hunt, around noon, attendees over the age of 18 can join in the fun during 94KEY's Adult Easter Egg Scramble. With a valid ID, adults can register for the Adult Easter Egg Scramble at the 94KEY tent on the day of the event.

For more information, visit the city's Facebook invitation for the event or reach out to Special Events Manager Kerry Uribe at 439-4279 or kuribe@ci.alamogordo.nm.us.