Under a bright blue sky, kites were flying high, held aloft by a brisk breeze Saturday. Holding onto the kite strings were children of V. I. National Guard members and families involved in 4H.
The children made their own kites in a workshop that was just one of the many Easter activities for children taking place on the north lawn at the University of the Virgin Islands. The Family Readiness Group, families and supporters of the guardsman, and the 4H Extension office at UVI sponsored the second Kite Festival and Easter Fun Day. On St. Thomas a similar event took place at Magens Bay from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The big orange and black inflatable VING tent was a flurry of activity with kids of all sizes decorating hard boiled eggs using dye, glitter, glue, stickers, paint and crayons.
One toddler looked at his egg and didn’t have a clue what to do with it. So he threw it.
Old fashioned games were played such as an egg and spoon race, water balloon toss, bean bag toss, sack races and more. The Civil Air Patrol members staged a rocket launch.
There was a lively clown dressed in rainbow colors with purple hair, but the Easter bunny didn’t make an appearance.
The egg hunts took place in four different locations on campus for children between the ages of 1 and 12. The top three in each age group who found the most eggs took home an Easter basket of goodies. The brightly colored plastic eggs held candy and trinkets.
There were hot dogs, burgers, brownies and drinks, all complimentary for the nearly 200 children in attendance. D.J. BigKat played some tunes for the crowd’s entertainment and little ones were dancing to the beat.
Rhalina LaPlace, the state youth coordinator of Family Readiness, said funding for the event is from the Military Welfare Recreation grants and 4H.
Caren Martinez, wife of Jose Martinez, stationed at Fort Bragg, N.C., brought their kids out for the fun day.
“This is a fun and memorable day,” Martinez said. “This is keeping the kids occupied and busy on this Easter holiday.”
Sarah Dahl-Smith, 4H extension education agent, said they are going to start a National Guard family 4H group soon and this is an opportunity to show children what 4H is like and get parents involved.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for families to have fun, especially on this Easter weekend,” Dahl-Smith said. “This is a way to get families involved,” she said as she cut colorful wrapping paper for the kites.
