Community Corner
Weather Holds Off For Flagstar Egg Hunt, Visitors Head to Paint Creek Trail Open House
The Flagstar Bank Easter Egg Hunt, followed by the Friends of the Paint Creek Trail Open House, kept Oakland Township residents busy Saturday afternoon.
Nearly 100 kids turned out with baskets and bags for the annual Saturday afternoon. Many of the same families retreated to the after the hunt was over.
Both Jim VanDoorn, President of the Board of Directors for the Friends of the Paint Creek Trail, and Flagstar Personal Banker Karen Stoffel pointed to the weather for preventing some residents from attending the events. Still, Flagstar Manager Karen Schneider said that she was satisfied with the turnout and grateful that the weather held out until the end of the egg hunt.
"I think it went wonderful," Schneider said. "We rolled out those eggs in the front lawn and in less than a minute later they were all picked up."
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The kids pounced fast on the eggs, as Schneider described, and many participated in the other events going on at the scene. There was a station for temporary tattoos on site, sack races and egg races. Donations at the event benefited Leader Dogs for the Blind.
"This was the first year we were here and it was great," said Amy Corby, Oakland Township resident who brought daughters Alana, 5, and Leah, 3. "I didn't think there would be so many eggs."
Find out what's happening in Oakland Township-Lake Orionwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Schneider said she was very proud to live in such a community-oriented town and appreciated the support of those who helped make the event possible. Sponsors included the , Jewel Kade, The Toffee Store, Friends of the Paint Creek Trail and the restaurant.
John Shield, owner of the Paint Creek Cider Mill, noted that he saw an increase in business thanks to the two events and was happy to pass out complimentary doughnuts at the egg hunt.
At the open house, members of the community were welcomed to appetizers, art displays by artist Jeanette Locher, trail maps and sign-up sheets for membership.
"There are a lot of people who really aren't familiar with the trail and the beauty of the trail and all that it has to offer," VanDoorn said.
VanDoorn said that with the open house they were hoping to attract more people to become members of the Friends of the Paint Creek Trail. According to VanDoorn they have about 400 people in their database that have expressed interest, but only about 10 active members. He said he has hopes that the open house will become an annual event.
