Easter came early to Aubrey bringing an extra surprise in the form of a renovation for the city’s old town park.
Events and Programs Coordinator Rodney Cagle took Saturday as an opportunity to combine the annual Easter egg hunt with the ribbon cutting for Matthew’s Park, which just got a revamp after 26 years of service to the children of the community.
“Timing worked out in our favor,” Cagle said. “It was all critical on whether construction would get done on time, and ... it was only just finished a little over a week ago. No better time to do the ribbon cutting than while you already have 1,000 people downtown. It was kind of a no-brainer.”
The hunt came first, with Veterans Memorial Park, surrounded by attractions like bounce houses, vendor stalls, a hoops trailer and a petting zoo from Porter’s Corner, stuffed to bursting with over 4,000 individual eggs. “We had really good spon- sors with Centurion American and Blue Diamond,” Cagle said. “Over 4,000 eggs full of candy costs money.”
The colorful collection of confection-filled containers littered the park grounds but were quickly delegated to individual baskets in minutes after the egg collectors were given the go-ahead. Aubrey’s youth made quick work of the task, the eggs soon replaced by parents and children relegating their hauls in the grass.
“It’s so fun, and as a stay at home mom I need things to get us out of the house that aren’t necessarily something I have to plan,” Brooke Burton said as she and her daughters cracked eggs and sorted candy. “Just to get to show up and have fun is the best thing you can do for a mom.”
Following, the community gathered at Matthew’s Park to join his mother, Rita Rogers, in a ribbon cutting.
“It makes me happy, keeping Matthew’s memory alive,” Rogers said. “My son died when he was 10 years old, and people kept sending me money. I got thousands of dollars sent to me and didn’t know what to do with it, but we’d come to this park just before Matthew died and there was just a slide, and it was coming out of the ground.”
years, it became clear that this park needed a little love and a chance to shine again. That’s exactly what we’re giving it today.”
Mayor Chris Rich addressed the community as Rogers prepared to make the cut and reopen the park to the gathered families.
“Matthew’s Park has long been a place where memories are made, where children take their first swing, where friends share laughter on a summer afternoon and where our community comes together to connect with one another,” Rich said. “After 26
