Kids Culture 04.13.17

Hip Hop Hurray

Kids who celebrate Easter will be in a lather awaiting the overnight delivery of their bright baskets filled with chocolate rabbits and marshmallow chickens. They can get a hop, skip, and jump on their candy fix at a cluck-cluck clutch of egg hunts to be held on Saturday.

Herrick Park on Newtown Lane in East Hampton will once again be the scene of a mad egg-collecting dash at 10 a.m., as the East Hampton Town Democratic Committee hosts the free-of-charge, free-for-all hunt (really, more of a race) that has become an annual tradition. As ever, the Easter Bunny himself is expected to put in an appearance, and there will be games, raffle prizes, and cheerful sugar-induced mayhem.

Marders nursery on Snake Hollow Road in Bridgehampton will be the scene of a hunt, also starting at 10 a.m., that is a bit more challenging and that in years past has featured actual hard-boiled eggs, hand-decorated by the nursery’s staff, as well as chocolates. The hunt at the Amagansett Youth Park on Abraham’s Path will kick off at noon; families have been asked to drop off a donation of a dozen plastic eggs and a bag of individually wrapped candies (but none with peanuts) before the start whistle blows.

On Sunday afternoon, once the cellophane wrapping has been ripped open and the jelly beans and foil tossed all over the living room, kids who want more, more, more Easter kicks can be treated to two more hunts.

Members of the Sag Harbor Lions will play bunny’s helpers for an egg hunt at Mashashimuet Park. There will be three start times for three age groups. The 2 to 4-year-olds will start at 1 p.m., with adults holding their hands; then the 5 to 7-year-olds will make a run for the eggs, followed by 8 to 10-year-olds. There will also be pony rides. A rather more serene springtime scene is expected along a water-view trail near Long Pond, where the Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt will present their annual hunt, co-sponsored by the Southampton Trails Preservation Society; this one is reserved for children 8 and under. Participants will meet at Poxabogue Park, south of the railroad trestle on Old Farm Road in Sagaponack. It begins at 1 p.m. sharp.

The Minecraft Mob

The weekly Wednesday evening Minecraft Club at the Hampton Library on Main Street in Bridgehampton has become quite popular, despite the rather late 7 p.m. start time on a school night. If you still do not know what Minecraft is (and you don’t have a child nearby to explain it to you), it is the second-best-selling video game of all time, in which imaginary worlds are constructed on screen and imaginary pigs, chickens, and cows — beset, in some modes, by nasty spiders, skeletons, and zombies — leap and fly about as they gather building materials and tools.

The club’s age range is 7 to 12, and kids are required to sign up in advance. Sometimes, the library’s computers are all claimed, and children take their own laptops to play alongside, but even in that event reservations are necessary.

You’re Grounded!

Earth Day is coming. Looking ahead to next week, there are a couple of earthy events that parents might want to R.S.V.P. for on the early side. At 3 p.m. on April 22, a Saturday, the friendly children’s librarians at the Amagansett Library on Main Street are planning a workshop at which sunflower seeds will be sown in biodegradable containers and a farmer from Amber Waves Farm will offer the kids insights into the cycle from seed to soil to thriving plant. Registration is being taken on the library’s website.

The next day, April 23, at the Montauk Library on Montauk Highway, families will celebrate the Earth in an unusual fashion: by manipulating dough, tomato sauce, and cheese to create pizzas that look like our world or places on the map. The event, which starts at 2 p.m., will be limited to 15 families, and reservations are being taken at 631-668-3377.