Easter Bunny brings boost to Wahiawa businesses
Source: KHON2 News (link below)
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Across Oahu, families celebrated the Easter holiday while enjoying the beautiful weather.
Some went to prayer services, while others opted to find the Easter bunny or do an Easter egg hunt.
In Wahiawa, families gathered to do an Easter egg hunt hosted by the Wahiawa Community and Business Association.
10-year-old Serenity Galban started the hunt around 11 a.m. with her dad near Teapresso.
“They post clues on Instagram and we go drive around and look for the eggs,” Galban said while explaining how to find the hidden Easter eggs.
“And when they find the eggs, there’s a coupon or gift to get them back into the store,” explained Keoni Ahlo, the owner of Teapresso in Wahiawa who came up with the Easter egg hunt three years ago. “So they get something for free, but they also get to find some of the cool places in Wahiawa that they might not have known was here.”
Parents and kids worked together to figure out clues left on the Our Wahiawa Instagram stories page.
Ahlo said some of the long-time Wahiawa residents had the advantage when it came to clues. But for most of the kids, working with their parents was the highlight of the day.
Participants found coupons for Teapresso, Mia Bella, Biofit and more; other kids found candy, chocolates and other prizes.
Whoever posted the cutest or funniest video of finding an Easter egg on their Instagram story, won the grand prize Easter basket.
Many community members said the Easter egg hunt was a great way to get business names out into the community.
It didn’t take long for Serenity Galban to fill her Easter basket. Within about an hour, it went from empty to overflowing.
“Dad was a lot of help,” she said. “God blessed me today for finding eggs and giving me the ability to use my eyes and look for them.”
Her dad said they went to the police station, Lake Wilson, Royal Palm, Leilehua, Tanya’s Pies, “every place we could think of in Wahiawa we went there,” he said. “We had a blast, it was a really good fun this year.”
Ahlo said when they began the Easter egg hunt three years ago, they had about a dozen businesses participate, but because so many businesses have been struggling, there were less this year.
“We’re trying to ramp it up again,” Ahlo said. “The goal is to get to 30 or 40 and get thousands of eggs across the community.”
