Staveley set to host Easter egg hunt to help with playground costs

Staveley is set to be the stage for a giant Easter egg hunt for the final fundraising push to complete works on the play area, which was closed due to safety concerns in October.

The village is within £10,000 of its original £120,000 fundraising target, with the first phase of works already underway.

To secure the remaining funds, residents are bringing ’The Great Egg Hunt’ to Staveley for the first time on Saturday, April 16, from 12 to 4pm.

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30 giant eggs will be hidden in the windows of businesses and other key locations around Staveley.

Starting at Staveley Pavilion, eager egg hunters can purchase a map for £3.

And using their map they have to find all the eggs, reveal the clues and ‘crack the code'.

There will also be a bonus golden egg, not detailed on the map, that if found, egg hunters can share and tag a picture on social media to be in with a chance of winning an 'eggstra’ prize.

The Easter Bunny was recently spotted in Staveley inspecting works and the egg hunt route.

“This is an Easter event that the whole community is behind and we have been overwhelmed with the support and engagement as a result,” said resident and fundraiser Kate Fawcett.

“We have received generous event sponsorship from Lakeside Taxis to support us in delivering a quality event and each of the 30 eggs have been sponsored by a local businesses.

“The giant papier mache eggs have been created and decorated (in this year’s theme- children’s books) by the whole community, including school, nursery, Brownies and a number of local families.

“The efforts have been very impressive and we are excited to reveal the eggs on the day of the hunt.”

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The event will be run by volunteers and Staveley Women’s Institute will host an Easter cake and refreshment stall in the Pavilion.

And the Blind Chocolatier’s Stuart Hann has donated a luxury Easter egg hamper, for which raffle tickets will be sold on the day.

“This is the first Easter event of its kind in Staveley, and we expect it to become a firm fixture in the Staveley calendar each year,” said Ms Fawcett.

“In addition to raising the funds for the playground, we would like to bring the whole community together and celebrate what a fantastic village Staveley is - whether you live here, work here or are just visiting.”