Thoughts on Our Easter Festival

We had a great time at the Easter Festival on Saturday. After some rainy weather earlier in the week, the sun was out and a light breeze kept us cool. Here are some highlights:

• Pictures posted on Flickr.
• We set a goal of 50 guests and exceeded it. We had a mix of church folks and community folks.
• Over 30 volunteers helped with supplies, set-up, and service.
  
• Looking through our registration cards, one volunteer said "I don't know any of these folks!" Hey, that's the idea!
• I'd estimate less than 4 families came on their own. Most came at the invitation of a church person. That says a lot.
• We set up the majority of stuff Friday night. Saturday morning went smoothly and quickly.
• Having so many volunteers meant that most folks didn't get too overwhelmed.
• Each family who attended got an info pack with details on VBS, Effingham Kids, and Sunday School/Children's Church. It included a jelly bean gospel, bouncy ball, and more. Pee Dee Christian donated the bags to hold everything.
  
• Spacewalk of Florence provided us with a basketball bounce house at the lowest cost in town. You can't believe how heavy those things are! It took four guys to move it. A church family donated its cost.
• Thanks to donations of money and materials, the total cost to the church was less than 1.50 per guest per hour. The overall total per person was even less. That's good stewardship.
• The Hunts at the Plunder Shop/State Communications set us up with a professional snow cone machine and popcorn maker. Bill Hunt custom makes his own flavors, so you should check him out--right next to the Granite Store on S. Irby. He makes banners, too.
• Strawberry was the most popular flavor of Hawaiian Ice.
• Since we expected a few kids with latex allergies, we used mylar balloons. They last a lot longer, too.
  
• Our hot dogs were delicious! We've got some talented cooks at EPC.
• I was amazed at how many volunteers sat in the sun all day with no complaining. The smiles on the kids faces helped, I think.
• The Egg Hunt was a blast. We ended up having 5 hunts total, since the kids are fast hunters. A few church folks took the initiative to add the extra hunts...way to go!
• This whole thing was my wife's vision, made possible by our church's hard work and God's grace. I'm blessed to be a husband to the first, a pastor to the second, and a servant of the third.
• A few lessons for next year: more signs for parking/registration, don't use crepe paper to mark egg hunt boundaries, provide more food for volunteers, and more umbrellas for the craft tables...oh, and make sure not to include lullaby songs on the iPod Playlist.