A day to treasure
The Orange County Fairgrounds were covered in pastels Saturday as children and their parents hopped to the swap meet, many clutching brightly colored Easter baskets and donning springtime hats.
Among the festivities was an Easter egg hunt, in which parents were given a pink treasure map with a list of vendors and their locations where eggs could be found.
Although 6-year-old Aubrey got bored looking for eggs, she wore herself out on the inflatable bouncer, her mother Lynn Ungria, of Anaheim, said.
Aubrey was kneeling at the pastel purple craft table with about 10 other children, where she was taping a red feather to a purple card.
Sean McCarthy initially came with daughters Hannah, 10, and Sarah, 6, to visit the barnyard animals at the neighboring Centennial Farm when they spotted the stage with a puppet show for kids.
McCarthy said the girls already began Easter celebrations at home, dying eggs with cabbage, beets and onions, but the girls enjoyed watching Bob, a marionette alien, bounce around the stage, which was bookended with two large carrots made from dozens of orange balloons.
There was one scene in the show that Hannah particularly liked, when the extraterrestrial’s arms, legs and head floated away from the rest of his body.
“It was really funny,” Hannah said.
Sarah, who was wearing a matching pink and white knit bonnet, agreed.
Nearby Britney, 6, and Kylee, 4, also thought Bob was the highlight of the show.
“Bob ripped his whole body,” said Britney, who matched her sister with a bright summer dress and lavender Easter basket.
Other activities included an inflatable obstacle course alongside the bouncer and face painting, although there was a clear highlight that drew the largest crowd.
Jessica Baker, a Costa Mesa transplant from Virginia, was at the fairgrounds with her 3-year-old son Dylan, who was paying the Easter bunny a visit for the first time.
Baker said this year was the first time Dylan recognized who the Easter bunny was, and the two waited in the line that snaked past the bathrooms and almost reached the surrounding vendors.
Twitter: @lawilliams30