Hiwassee Dam The Hiwassee Dam Fire Department grounds were sprinkled with brightly colored plastic eggs, each containing a variety of treats – and some with certain numbers inside that could be turned in for winning gift baskets.
The annual Easter festivities were geared toward children. However, food and drinks were provided for everyone attending.
While the Easter event had previously been held at the Hiwassee Dam Community Center, “The fire department offered more ground space and a newer facility for the event, so this has been the location for the past couple of years,” said Fire Chief Chad McNabb, who appeared happy with the event’s outcome.
Local resident Lynn Hamby has been organizing the event since 1996.
“The first year we did it, we had 24; and in 2019, we had almost 400,” she said. “Today, we had over 250 people, so we’re coming back. This is a true community effort, with others helping as well. It’s for the kids, and this is amazing.”
The day’s fun included an Easter bonnet contest, Easter egg hunts for different age groups, face painting by Hannah Bailey, food and “Sparky” the fire dog, as played by 13-year-old Angel Welch, was available for photo opportunities.
Murphy Mayor Tim Radford was one of the judges for the bonnet contest .
“It’s a gorgeous day. I love seeing the community come together like this,” he said. “This is just a fantastic event to bring people together. It’s encouraging.”
The egg hunts were a rush of kids laughing and screaming as they ran to scarf up as many treat-filled colored eggs as they could. In a matter of just a few minutes the fields that were laden with specks of brightly colored eggs were stripped bare and all that remained were the foot impressions in the grass of lots of tiny feet and a single broken plastic egg, minus its candy.
Children ages 12 and younger had an opportunity to strut down a sweet-looking runway to show off their creativity decorated hats and bonnets in the hopes of winning one of the prize baskets. It was evident that plenty of time went into the making of each one.
The categories included:
- “Most Creative,” which was won by 4-year-old Shaylynn Key, whose hat was adorned with lots of colors and activity and took hours to create.
- “Funniest” went to Hadlee Harbin, who appeared happy while flaunting her head attire.
- “Largest” was presented to Blakely Hughes, who had to hold it on her head while cruising down the runway.
- “Best All Around” bragging rights went to Madilynn Key, who made the Key family happy with two winners.
All contestants appeared happy to receive recognition for their hard work in creating such masterpieces. The weather appeared mild and the sun was shining, making for a successful event, happy participants and proud organizers of the yearly community gathering.