What did families do for Easter in Pahrump?

Fun festivities for the whole family took over two of Pahrump’s parks this past weekend as members of the community came together to host celebrations in honor of the Easter holiday.

Area residents young and old were able to enjoy the occasion to the fullest, with the annual Community Easter Picnic hosted on Saturday at Petrack Park and the Mills family’s annual Easter at Simkins Park taking place Sunday. Collectively, these two events attracted nearly 2,000 people and it was clear from the chimes of laughter and bright, smiling faces that both celebrations were received with enthusiasm by attendees.

The Community Easter Picnic

The Community Easter Picnic is the work of the nonprofit Pahrump Holiday Task Force, a group with the sole mission of fostering community togetherness. Assisted by the Pahrump Disability Outreach Program, task force members put on another highly successful shindig onApril 19 and they were all delighted with the outcome.

“We actually ran out of food and had to go get more!” task force member Nichole Walters told the Pahrump Valley Times afterward. “We went through more than 1,100 hotdogs and hamburgers this year. It was a very good turnout.”

In addition to the freshly grilled food, picnic-goers could grab a snow cone, cotton candy or kettle corn before sitting down at one of the many tables and benches set out for the day. There were a dozen organizations on hand to man tables for the picnic’s Easter Egg Scramble, too, where more than 6,500 stuffed eggs were given out to eager youngsters.

“We’d like to thank all of the organizations who came to give out eggs and provide games and activities, along with Joe’s Sanitation, Valley Electric Association, AmeriGas, Pahrump Family Mortuary, Kiwanis Club of the Pahrump Valley, Central Valley Baptist Church, Heritage Bible Church, Pahrump Disability Outreach Program, Burger King, Java Junkies, Iceology, FD Candy Co., Jimmy Martinez and crew from the town, Judge Kim Wanker and the volunteers from Drug Court,” Walters said. “Lastly, we want to thank the community for coming out and enjoying the day with us.”

Easter at Simkins Park

Bright and early the next morning, D.J. Mills, friends and family headed out to host the annual Easter at Simkins Park event, an extravaganza that has its roots deep in longtime family tradition.

“Many years ago when our family was growing up in Amargosa, our dad, Dan Mills, decided to hold a community egg hunt. It was a great way of bringing the community together and providing fun for families,” D.J. explained. “When my sister Cassandra had her sons, Jonathan and Jacob, and they were old enough to enjoy an egg hunt, with my wife and her triplet siblings our family decided to have an egg hunt and invite all of our friends and family. After two years of doing this at her home, we had outgrown that space so we moved it to Simkins Park.”

D.J. reported that move took place 15 years ago this year and each successive year has seen the event grow.

As to how the 2025 Easter at Simkins Park went, D.J. told the Times, “Everything went very well. We had a lot of community support that made things run smoothly. We had a couple of our event leads who were feeling under the weather and others quickly jumped in to fill the gaps. People seemed to enjoy themselves and the volunteers really enjoyed serving our community members. Even our youth were actively engaged in volunteering!”

Easter at Simkins Park saw somewhere between 700 and 800 attendees, D.J. estimated, and once again the event was a wonderful way to spend the holiday.

“So many people have helped create this and make it such a special time,” D.J. said. “I’m glad to have the opportunity to continue this tradition with my wife and children. The past few years we’ve focused on bringing the event ‘back to our roots’ of providing a space for families to play together, to maximize time with — enjoy the event with — our littles. We honor the memory of Cassandra and Dan by continuing to serve our community and provide opportunities for individuals who hear the word of God in the form of worship music, which this year featured a collection of jam sessions from Cassandra and the late Wendy King and Bill Kerr.

“We do this event for the community, with the community and by the community,” D.J. continued. “We help coordinate parts of the event but this is truly a community collaboration and there are simply too many people who are an integral part of bringing this event to fruition every year to thank everyone by name. So instead, our family would like to express a heartfelt thank you to the entire community for coming together for the families of Pahrump.”

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com