COLUMBIA — The Columbia Chamber of Commerce hosts its annual Victorian Easter Celebration on Sunday, April 16, at Columbia State Historic Park. The free event begins at noon with egg hunts for children ages three to twelve and a parade down Main Street at 12:30 p.m.
Visitors are invited to dress in their Easter finery and join the Victorian Era promenade.
“Columbia was founded in 1850, and Columbia State Historic Park has many docents and a number of ladies and couples who march each year to display their fancy dresses and clothes from the late 1800s,” said event coordinator Leslie Davis.
The Chamber will give awards for Fanciest Victorian Hat, Best Dressed Couple, and Best Dressed Lasses, Lads, Groups and Pets. Registration for the parade begins at 11 a.m. in front of the Fallon Hotel. Visitors and their pets are also welcome to enjoy the parade from the side.
Another tradition includes Columbia’s very own Easter Bunny, Thaddeus E. Hare, who will hand out fresh carrots and take photos with kids throughout the day. Children can bring their Easter baskets for Columbia’s egg hunts, and the finder of a special golden egg will receive a prize.
“About 2,000 real eggs are hard-boiled and colored by the folks at Nelson’s Columbia Candy Kitchen,” Davis said.
The Small Fry Egg Search (ages 3 to 5) begins at noon on the field behind the Livery. After the Easter Parade, the Junior Egg Poachers (ages 6 to 8) will try their luck at 1 p.m. on the Miner’s Shack Field behind the Wells Fargo building, and finally the Great Egg Scramblers hunt (ages 9 to 12) begins at 1:30 p.m., also at the Miner’s Shack field.
The Columbia State Park museum and all the Columbia shops and restaurants will also be open for the event. For more information, contact the Columbia Chamber of Commerce at 209-536-1672 or visit www.visitcolumbiacalifornia.com.