A plethora of Easter festivities are scheduled in the area as the American Legion Post 164 prepares for its second annual helicopter egg drop in April.
Breakfast will be served from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on April 8 at the American Legion Post, followed by face painting, games, a petting zoo and vendors before a helicopter swings by to drop thousands of Easter eggs for eager children.
“Our post thought a lot of people do Easter egg hunts, but what can we do differently to bring our small community something nobody else can?” American Legion Commander Clay Williams said. “Well, we had a couple of pilots on our executive committee that asked, ‘why don’t we drop the eggs out of a helicopter?’”
The Legion first held the event last year. A family member of one of the members owns a fleet of helicopters that he operates around Seattle. Dirty Deeds LLC also donated the eggs to the event.
Last year, they had about 6,200 eggs for the helicopter drop. This year, that number will increase to 10,000 eggs in the helicopter and 18,000 in a dump truck on site.
“We want to make sure all the kids get a chance to get eggs and we had a thousand people last year, so those eggs can go fast,” Williams said.
Parking will be available offsite at the Legion, while the egg drops will be held at the nearby baseball field for various age groups.
“We learned from last year and worked out some kinks,” Williams said. “We have a lot of volunteers to keep the hunt contained to the baseball field and it will be an all-day thing for them.”
Williams has put in around 80 hours of work on the event so far, while other event organizers have spent between 40 to 50 hours preparing.
“We will get there around 7 a.m. and probably won’t leave until 6 or 7 in the morning,” Williams said.
It’s all a labor of love as one of the principles of the Legion is a focus on youth and community.
The post is located at 16733 103rd Ave. SE in Yelm
Here is a roundup of Easter events scheduled in the Yelm area this year:
Second Annual City of Yelm Easter Egg Hunt
The Outpost Church of Yelm and the City of Yelm Parks and Recreation Department will host its second annual City of Yelm Easter Egg Hunt at Yelm City Park on Saturday, April 1. There will be candy, prizes and 30,000 eggs. The hunt is open to those who are 10 and younger. The hunt begins at 11 a.m., with those aged 0-3 hunting at 11 a.m., those aged 4-6 at 11:15 a.m., and ages 7-10 at 11:30 a.m. The event is free to attend.
Easter Egg Hunt, Breakfast at Nisqually Valley Moose Lodge
There will be a breakfast and Easter egg hunt at the Nisqually Valley Moose Lodge in Yelm on Sunday, April 2. Breakfast will go from 9 to 10:30 a.m. and will cost $7. It will feature ham, scrambled eggs, hash browns, pancakes and syrup. Children 12 and under eat free. The Easter egg hunt will start at 11 a.m. There will be free photos with the Easter Bunny, prizes and candy.
Skookumchuck Grange Easter Egg Hunt
The Skookumchuck Grange and the Tenino FFA will present a free Easter egg hunt on Saturday, April 8 at 11 a.m. at the Skookumchuck Grange at 5345 Skookumchuck Road SE in Tenino. A $5 pancake breakfast will also be available from 9:30 to 11 a.m.
Yelm Moose Lodge Easter Sale and Egg Hunt
The Yelm Moose Lodge will feature vendors and food during its Easter sale and egg hunt, which is presented by Traveling Treasures, on Saturday, April 8. The sale will go from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Egg hunt times are 11 a.m. for ages 0-2, noon for ages 3-5, 1 p.m. for ages 6 to 10, 2 p.m. for ages 11 to 15 and 3 p.m. for ages 16 to 18. Professional photos will be available for $10.
Second Annual Helicopter Egg Drop
Eggs will rain down at the second annual helicopter egg drop hosted by the American Legion Post 164 in Yelm on Saturday, April 8. From 8 to 11 a.m. there will be breakfast for a $7 donation. At 11 a.m., the Easter festivities will begin with face painting, games, a petting zoo, vendors and the helicopter egg drop. The post is located at 16733 103rd Ave. SE in Yelm.
We Love Rainier WA Easter Egg Hunt
We Love Rainier WA will host its annual Easter egg hunt at 2 p.m. at Wilkowski Park on Saturday, April 8. There will be candy, prizes and more. The event is free to attend. Egg hunt times are set for 2:10 p.m. for ages 0 to 4, 2:30 p.m. for ages 5 to 7, 2:50 p.m. for ages 8 to 11, 3:10 p.m. for ages 12 to 17 and 3:30 p.m. for adults. The family-friendly event is free to attend.
Yelm Eagles Kids Easter Egg Hunt
The Yelm Eagles will host its Easter egg hunt on Saturday, April 13 at 10:30 a.m. There will be four age groups: 1-3, 4-6, 7-9 and 10-12 years old. This is a free event and people can take pictures with the Easter Bunny.
