Main street egg drop 2008

Published 10:50 pm Saturday, March 15, 2008

Picayune Main Street’s Egg Drop featured windy but sunny weather and thousands of eggs.

Plastic eggs, food and fun highlighted the annual event, which featured a number of new and returning activities.

A number of volunteers helped to organize and plan the event, such as 20 business owners who sold the eggs in their shops, said Picayune Main Street board member Marti Fegter. About 30 Main Street members volunteered their time to stuff the plastic eggs with candy and coupons from local businesses. About 10,000 eggs were dropped from planes at Picayune’s airport.

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A key business Fegter recognized for its help with the event was Phillips Aviation.

“It’s kind of a mutual admiration when it comes to egg drops… we love it and they love it,” Fegter said.

Picayune Police Department’s Senior Patrol and Picayune’s Airport Manager Andy Greenwood, Mandeville’s Senior Aviation Cadets and Picayune’s Perfect Dress Teen Board also lent their time to the event, Fegter said.

Eggs were sold the day of the event while pony rides, rock wall climbs, bounce house time, train rides and face painting were all offered for a fee. Pictures by Gloria Travis of children with live bunnies also were available.

Union Baptist church donated about 2,000 eggs to the event. Picayune Main Street Board Secretary Jo Scheel said the church was planning to host its own Easter Egg hunt, but children of the church said they wanted to go to the Egg Drop.

When they were dropped, people who purchased eggs hoped theirs would land in one of many “targets” or kiddy pools. Eggs that land in the targets include contestants in a prize drawing. In the event the eggs didn’t fall into the targets, eggs surrounding a pool would have been collected and entered into the drawing. Prizes ranged from door prizes to $250. Contestants who purchased winning eggs did not have to be present to win, however door prize winners did have to be present.

Free activities for the kids included a large egg for painting and paper basket painting. Picayune Junior High’s art teacher coordinated the large egg painting, Fegter said. The egg will be displayed somewhere in the city for all to see after the event.

Proceeds from the egg drop will help fund renovations to two additions to the Shay, Picayune’s historic train, and also will benefit Picayune On Stage.

“We’re trying to help an additional group over and above ourselves,” Scheel said.

A hand car and a worker car, historically used to work on Shay trains, will be displayed along with Picayune’s Shay. Funds collected will help to renovate those pieces of history. The funds also will help purchase decorative trash cans for the Main Street area.