dejected. Parents were upset and confused. Who would ever expect a controversy to come out of an egg hunt? Event organizer Diane Dimbat must have felt the
world was spinning off its axis when impatient egg-hunters darted onto the lawns without the word "Go!" having been uttered, followed by scores of others, with no
regard to whose prizes they were grabbing (there were supposed to be three age-separated areas). It was a good thing, in retrospect, that no one got hurt - the
recent Old Colorado City luck, which started last November when the Garman building's loose bricks rained down on a deserted sidewalk, continues! But there, in
the middle of it all, once the 4,000 eggs were gone, was poor Diane, apologizing like mad and absorbing a steady stream of questions and criticisms. Nevertheless,
she kept her head and devised a plan for a "make amends" egg hunt, using hastily gathered toy reserves from the merchant office, and this had the effect of placating
many people.
But what is also interesting to me is the somewhat altered philosophy of the merchants' Easter Egg Hunt, going in. Before, the idea was to use the event as a "thank you" to the neighborhoods around Old Colorado City - essentially for putting up with parking, trash and noise from all the other events the merchants schedule to attract visitors to this part of town (most notably Territory Days). But with more and more hunt participants not from the Westside, the Old Colorado City Associates (OCCA) merchants group decided to use the hunt this year to attract participants down to the stores. Sound too commercial? Well, think for a moment. These are business people. It's their event. And they need customers. Anyone wanting a non-commercial egg hunt can organize it if they want. One suggestion: Be sure the participants have a full appreciation of the word "Go!"
- K.J.