Easter Curbside event in the works for Pahrump

In just over four weeks’ time, Easter will be upon the community and in the Pahrump Valley, that means the Pahrump Holiday Task Force is hard at work preparing for its annual event in celebration of the occasion.

To be held the Saturday before Easter, the event will provide the local community with free meals as well as Easter goodie bags packed with traditional Easter eggs and candy, along with informational materials regarding a variety of businesses, nonprofits and other service organizations available right here in the community.

As has been the case for several years, the Pahrump Holiday Task Force will be partnering with the Pahrump Disability Outreach Program to bring the annual Easter festivities to the valley. Task force chair Linda Wright said she is delighted to be able to host the event this year, after having had to cancel the community Easter celebration in 2020.

“We’re doing great,” Wright told the Pahrump Valley Times when asked how things were shaping up for the 2021 event. “We had already decided last month that we were going to do Easter this year, and we have everything pretty much in the works. We’re calling it the Community Easter Curbside Pickup Event. We had to cancel last year due to COVID but we wanted to bring the Easter event back, and this is how we can do that, to serve our community, while still working within the parameters of COVID. We want our community, and our volunteers, to stay safe.”

In years past, the Holiday Task Force’s community Easter event had been held as a picnic at a local park, where over 1,000 attendees would regularly gather for a day of food, fun and holiday celebration.

In March of last year, when the COVID-19 pandemic reared its ugly head in Nevada and the state was shut down in an effort to slow the spread of the virus, the Pahrump Holiday Task Force was left with no real choice but the cancel the 2020 event. It was a disheartening blow to the organization that has dedicated itself to bringing the community together every year, but the setback was only a temporary one.

With several months to go before its next big community events, those for Thanksgiving and Christmas 2020, the task force was able to completely rethink its methods and transform its in-person gatherings into curbside pickup events. With two such successful events under its belt, the task force is now looking to its upcoming Easter Curbside Pickup Event with optimism and excitement.

“We’ll be holding it at the coalition, just like we did with our Thanksgiving and Christmas curbside events,” Wright detailed. “We’ll have it set up just like we had for the other two events, where people can drive up, pick up their meals and goodie bags and drive out. And of course, the Easter Bunny will be there to visit with everyone too!”

Wright added that though the task force had to scrap the actual picnic itself, that doesn’t mean the picnic theme is out the window. The meals that will be served up in pre-packaged containers will include items that can regularly be found at picnic gatherings.

“It’s set up like a barbecue, to carry on that picnic feeling. It’s going to be hind-quarters of chicken, the thigh and leg part, barbecued, with a baked potato, baked beans and a cookie. Everything will be fully cooked so people can take it right out of the box and eat it, or they can take it home and heat it up if they prefer,” Wright said, remarking that the task force will be aiming to prepare around 800 meals.

As to other organizations getting involved in the event, Wright said she is reaching out to those that have participated in the past and noted that any new organization that would like to take part is more than welcome to do so.

“Our goal is to have a goodie bag with information from our various organizations in it, that we will be handing out. Any organization that would like to participate that way will need to contact us several days before the event, so we can make sure we have all of our materials together,” Wright said.

Community members themselves can lend a hand in the task force’s Easter endeavor as well, with Wright adding that the task force would be greatly appreciative of any donation, be it monetary or in the form of candy-filled Easter eggs.

The Pahrump Holiday Task Force’s Community Easter Curbside Pickup Event is set for Saturday, April 3 from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the NyE Communities Coalition, 1020 E. Wilson Road.

For more information on the event, joining the Pahrump Holiday Task Force, participating in the Easter event or donating, contact Wright at lwright.la.vfw@gmail.com

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com