North Little Rock egg hunt at Burns Park shows tornado recovery
For some in attendance at Burns Park in North Little Rock, Saturday’s egg hunt had extra meaning.
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The smiles on kids’ faces are an obvious sign that any Easter egg hunt is special, but one hunt in North Little Rock Saturday had a little extra meaning for some in attendance.
Of course, the kids there were mainly concerned about one thing.
“We got to run and pick up eggs,” Jayden McFadden said when asked what he enjoyed about the day.
“Yeah, we picked up so many eggs,” his sister Mia McFadden added.
And this hunt, which took place at Burns Park, was one of several scheduled around North Little Rock, according to Mayor Terry Hartwick.
“We’re very excited to get Easter underway, and it’s gonna be neat watching all these little kids,” Hartwick said. “I know there’s a lot of parents, grandparents and kids ready to go.”
But there was something else besides just the large crowds, excited kids and photo opportunities with the Easter Bunny that made this hunt special.
You could say it marks a return to normalcy for Burns Park, which just two years ago, was devastated by the March 31 tornadoes.
“Not everybody has a Burns Park,” Hartwick said. “Not every city does, but what we did, and all the city workers, has made it possible.”
That’s why Saturday may have meant just as much to some of the adults as it did the kids.
That was certainly the case for North Little Rock native Trey Patterson, whose grandson Leo took part in the hunt.
“Burns Park was a big part of my growing up,” Patterson said. “We used to ride around out here as teenagers and play golf. A lot of time has been spent out here. So yeah, it was devastating to see that, and it’s really good to see the growth back to getting back to some sort of normalcy.”
Whether you saw this as just another Easter egg hunt—or a meaningful post-tornado return— one thing is for sure.
Everyone had a good time.
“It was fun,” Jayden McFadden said. “Super fun.”
“These kids are having blast,” Patterson noted. “That’s what it’s all about.”
The egg hunt wasn’t the only sign of progress at the park lately—last month, they reopened Burns Park Funland, which had been closed since the tornado.