Rains can’t dampen Easter spirit at community picnic — PHOTOS

The Pahrump Holiday Task Force held its annual Community Easter Picnic this past Saturday and even amidst the rain-soaked day, families came out by the hundreds to revel in the free festivities.

“The Community Easter Picnic at Petrack Park was a surprising success, despite the weather!” task force chair Linda Wright told the Pahrump Valley Times afterward. “We weren’t sure what was in store for us when we saw the weather report with a 90% chance of rain but event co-chair David Boruchowitz and I said, ‘We’re going for it!’ Well, the rains certainly came and so did the Pahrump community.”

The event was slated to start at 10 a.m. but with families beginning to arrive at 9:30 a.m. and everything at the ready, organizers were happy to open the picnic early. Braving the weather to help bring the joy of the holiday to local families were a total of 25 organizations and businesses, each of which provided a game or activity of some kind, in addition to handing out the Easter eggs to the kiddos.

“Hotdogs and hamburgers were cooking, kettle corn and cotton candy were ready to be devoured and, because of the chilly drizzle, we swapped out snow cones for nice, warming hot chocolate,” Wright detailed. “We estimate about 500 people came out to have fun on a rainy day at the park. We gave out 4,500 eggs in the Easter Egg Scramble and after all was said and done, we had served up 500 hamburgers and 600 hotdogs. We definitely had a hungry crowd!”

Of course, Easter wouldn’t be complete without a visit with the Easter Bunny, who made a special trip to the valley just for the picnic.

“The Easter Bunny had his own special area so the children could visit and have their picture taken with him. Some were even lucky enough to get a Golden Egg,” Wright enthused.

Things began to slow down and the last of the families came through around 12:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon, so the task force decided to wrap it up a bit early as well. However, task force members were all delighted with the turnout and they’re looking forward to their next community shindig.

“The Pahrump Holiday Task Force would like to say thank you to our sponsors: Valley Electric Association, Leeward Renewable Energy, Heritage Bible Church, Joe’s Sanitation, the NyE Communities Coalition, Central Valley Baptist Church and Westfield Jewelers,” Wright was quick to add. “A big thank you to Judge Kim Wanker and the Drug Court volunteers as well as to all of the organizations and businesses that sponsored a table in the rain, Jimmy Martinez and town staff, Dave Preston with Channel 25, John Clausen and Robin with the Pahrump Valley Times, Deanna O’Donnell and the task force members and PDOP committee. Great job everyone!”

The next big event for the task force will take place in July as America marks Independence Day.

“The Fourth of July Parade and Family Fun Day will take place on July 4 at the Calvada Eye,” Wright said. ‘The parade will start at 10 a.m. and the family-fun portion will kick off right after with a barbecue, games for all ages, a watermelon-eating contest, water balloon fight with the sheriff’s office and so much more. Watch out for our flyers and parade signup, coming soon.”

For more information contact the task force at PahrumpHolidayTaskForce@gmail.com or visit the group’s Facebook page.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com