“I had wanted to bring the event back to the City of Atwater because it had been so long since we had one,” Mayor Creighton explained after the event. “So I talked to Lori Waterman and Janell Martin about it and they excited about it and started to put the event together.” As the initial steps to bring the event came to fruition Mayor Creighton would go on to bring together the first Easter basket and donate funding to help grow the event. His interest in bringing back the event prompted the Atwater-Winton Lions Club to pull together funding for the bikes to be raffled off. As word of the event spread, City of Atwater employees likewise worked to prepare the Easter baskets and other resources needed to bring back the event that had last been held when Castle Air Force Base was active, according to Mayor Creighton.
After each family had their chance to meet Peter Cottontail, they made their way to the front of the Easter egg hunting grounds where they were invited to take part in a raffle for the bikes donated to the event. Once at the starting line, Atwater Police Chief Michael Salvador began the countdown and children from across Atwater gathered their energy to sprint for the hidden eggs. Among the hidden eggs were special golden eggs, which if found allowed the holder to walk away with a large Easter basket full of chocolate goodies, toys and more.
Following the race for Easter eggs, families were invited to take part in a lunch provided by Love Atwater and a coloring contest as they waited for the winning raffle ticket to be pulled. Local firefighters, Cal Fire, and Atwater Police Officers were on hand as well to take photos with children and let them explore emergency vehicles, ranging from the Chief of Police’s vehicle to an Atwater Fire Department Ladder Truck.