Main Street Washington to hold “adult Easter Egg Hunt”

WASHINGTON — At least 15 downtown businesses will hide a handful of plastic eggs on their premises April 6-8, in part of a new event Main Street Washington has dubbed an adult Easter Egg Hunt.

Main Street Washington Director Samantha Meyer said the eggs would contain a mix of candy and coupons for the shoppers that find them, at the choice of participating stores. The hunt for those goodies gives adults a chance to get in on the seasonal fun.

“It’s fun because it’s geared toward adults, you’re not expected to bring your kids and let them find the goodies,” Meyer said. “It encourages people to also shop, it’s not just about freebies. That’s great for retailers because they’re participating in something that’s directly going to benefit them. Nobody’s going to pick up an egg unless they’re actually shopping and buying something at their store, and that’s what we want.”

Meyer said the egg hunt was the next in line for Main Street’s growing effort to hold low-stress business events at least once a month. That plan has worked out well so far: she said Galentine’s Day festivities in February brought shoppers to several new stores, putting those businesses on the map for the community.

“It’s a kind of extra incentive to shop local, or shop in Washington if you’re from out of town,” she said. “It always helps to have a little bit of a gimmick … to draw people in from out of town, and then hopefully they’ll become return customers.”

Participating businesses, for their part, said they were eager to be involved. Market on Main Owner Norma McCormac said it “should be an exciting event,” while Mama Llama’s Owner Karisa Mellinger said she was intrigued by its uniqueness.

“It’s something different,” Mellinger said. “We’ll be able to hide Easter eggs and put different discounts in them. And not every one person is going to have the same discount, so it’s kind of a fun thing to do.”

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com