MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. - Marine Aircraft Group 29 and all of its squadrons came together to have a family day and Easter egg hunt aboard Marine Corps Air Station New River, March 23.
Due to budget restraints, all the squadrons worked together to have one large family day instead of each individual squadron having their own event, said Shelbie Billiot, MAG-29 family readiness officer.
“It is great having a day for the family to come out and have fun,” said Staff Sgt. Carlos Scott, Marine Heavy Helicopter Training Squadron 302 operations chief.
The event featured a carnival-like theme with games, prizes and an Easter egg hunt for the children.
Each squadron that falls under MAG-29 set up a booth for children to play games and win prizes from their respective squadrons’ FROs.
Games ranged from sack races to quarterback tossing. Along with a clown making balloon animals and objects, a photo booth was also set up so families could have their photos taken with the Easter Bunny.
The main event of the family day was the Easter egg hunt that took place on the baseball field near the chapel aboard the air station.
The children were split up into different age groups and had hundreds of candy-filled eggs to find and collect in containers ranging from magazine drop pouches to brightly-colored buckets.
Two golden eggs were placed in each hunting area. The egg hunters who found them won the hunt and even more prizes.
As soon as the children began the hunt they took off running. They grabbed any and all eggs they could find in search of the golden eggs.
“It really is awesome that they put this together,” said Scott. “Not only is it a good time for the kids, but it is good to get Marines together and build camaraderie among the units.”