by Garrett Fodor
With spring in the air, volunteers with the Maidstone Bicentennial Museum celebrated the warmer weather by inviting area residents to enjoy its annual pussy willow sale, which was coupled with an Easter Bazaar, over the weekend.
With this past weekend featuring snow, rain, and sunshine – everything that could have been asked for when thinking of the possible weather for springtime – volunteers with the Maidstone Bicentennial Museum hosted its annual sale ahead of gardening season. They also welcomed the Easter Bunny, and hosted an array of festive activities for youths to enjoy, including an Easter egg hunt, to add to their Easter Bazaar event.
“It is nice that we are able to be back in a full capacity again and begin to host events like this again,” Victoria Beaulieu, Curator of the Maidstone Bicentennial Museum, said. “We have not been able to have our annual pussy willow sale in a few years, so we are extremely happy to be back. We decided to also expand upon it by hosting the Easter bunny throughout the weekend and having other related activities for children and families.”
Beaulieu said it was nice to see families visit the local museum, who were able to tour the facilities and learn a little bit about local history, too.
“To have the event span two-days, I think, was really great and offered families a lot of chances to participate,” Beaulieu commented. “Everybody was ready for spring, especially after the weather we saw early in the day Saturday, so it was nice to see people out enjoying our event.”
In anticipation of the egg hunt, organizers spread out over 300 eggs across the museum grounds for the eager young attendees to find and enjoy. For the more mature crowd, attendees were able to buy baked goods and unique items from local artisan vendors.
Along with the egg-hunt and the photo opportunity with the Easter bunny, the Maidstone Bicentennial Museum also hosted a colouring contest, which attracted numerous entries from across Windsor-Essex County, something Beaulieu notes she was extremely happy to see.
Across some of the various age groups, which were featured, some of the winners included: Marcie Glajch, Alice Glajch, Ben O’Hara, Dax Roy-Hillier, Bianca Adan, Ethan Vogt, Natalie Vogt, Victoria Fernandez-Higgins and Charlotte Fernandez-Higgins.
Beaulieu noted she was grateful for the support received from the community sponsors who helped to make the event possible.
She was also grateful to the community for their support, which was shown by attending the event throughout the course of the weekend.
Beaulieu added she was very happy with the turnout over the weekend and is excited to continue to host more annual events in the near future.