Both attendance and donations were up substantially at the sixth annual Aldergrove Easter event, held Saturday, March 30 on the plaza at Fraser Highway and 272nd Street.
It was a great day, with near-perfect weather, and everything was free.
Organizer Jodi Steeves of RE/MAX Aldercenter Realty estimated more than 400 showed up to enjoy a petting zoo, glitter tattoos, mini donuts and the Easter Bunny, while being invited to make donations to the Aldergrove Food Bank.
Last year, when the event raffled off a gift basket, it raised $180 for the food bank.
This year, instead of a gift basket, some plush jumbo bunnies were deployed to encourage contributions.
READ ALSO: Realtor Jodi Steeves raises donations for Aldergrove Food Bank this Easter
“I thought they might get a bit more traction, just because they’re big, and colourful, and fun,” Steeves said.
They had the desired effect. Donations totalled $534.75, and “then we just matched that so it comes out to 1,069.50,” a pleased Steeves told the Langley Advance Times.
“I can’t believe how much money we raised just from those bunnies,” Steeves added.
“That’s a lot.”
Most of the food bank donations were cash, with a small amount of food items also collected.
Another marker of increased attendance was the number of free, hot mini-doughnuts distributed.
“We gave out 600 bags of free hot donuts,” up from 450 the previous year, Steeves said.
A new addition to the event, a petting zoo presented by Abbotsford-based Cinemazoo, proved to be a popular attraction.
“We’ll definitely have them back again, and we’ll probably add a little band as well,” Steeves said.
READ ALSO: Alder Inn site to become public plaza for celebrations in near future