By Delayna Earley
The Island News
Easter is right around the corner, and while there have already been several holiday-themed events over the past two weekends, Easter weekend offers up family fun in Beaufort as well.
Easter is happening a little earlier than normal this year, with the holiday falling on Sunday, March 31 – but the big weekend for Easter fun happened on March 23 and 24.
Kicking off the festivities was Beaufort Academy’s Great Helicopter Easter Egg Drop on Lady’s Island where they dropped more than 17,500 plastic candy-filled eggs from a helicopter onto the Beaufort Academy’s Football Field.
Balloon artists, bounce houses, vendors, face painters, a petting zoo, music and many local food trucks made for a fun, family friendly event.
Calls for rain made the event planners move the date from Saturday to Sunday, but it did not seem to make much of a dent in the attendance.
Tidal Creek Fellowship also held their Easter Festival at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in downtown Beaufort on Sunday, March 24.
The free event featured inflatables, face painting, arts and crafts, snow cones, games, popcorn, giveaways, and prizes.
Highway 21 Drive In held their first Easter Egg Hunt on Sunday and scattered 10,000 eggs for kids to grab.
They also offered face painting, bounce houses and photos with Peter Cottontail.
While there have been several egg hunts and Easter-themed events over the past few weekends, there is still time to enjoy some holiday fun.
– On Saturday, March 30, a free Easter Eggstravaganza will be taking place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will feature egg hunts for kids, contests, puppet shows, face painting, bounce houses, a petting zoo, a picnic lunch and lots of candy.
The event will be held at Community Bible Church located at 638 Parris Island Gateway in Beaufort.
– Also on Saturday, St. Helena Baptist Church is hosting a free Breakfast with the Easter Bunny from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. A blood mobile will also be on site from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. to give the gift of life, according to their Facebook event page.
The church is located at 1600 Sea Island Parkway on St. Helena Island.
– St. Helena’s Anglican Church will be holding their Easter Celebration and Egg Hunt on March 31 at 9:15 a.m. on the lawn at USC Beaufort. They suggest that people bring their own chairs for the service and Easter baskets for the egg hunt that will follow directly.
– The annual Community Easter Sunrise service, hosted by First African Baptist Church and First Scots Presbyterian Church on Sunday, March 31, will be held from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. at Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
