Charlotte Metro Easter Egg Hunts: Here They Are

CHARLOTTE, NC — Spring is here and as flowers slowly begin to bloom that can only mean one thing: Easter is right around the corner. And for kids — or, you know, youthful teens and adults — it’s never too early to start thinking about hunting for colorful, candy-stuffed eggs. Luckily the folks at Easter Egg Hunts and Easter Events have the Charlotte metro covered.

Easter comes pretty late this year, falling on Sunday, April 21. (Last year it was on April 11 and the year before that it fell on April 16th.) As such, many egg hunts and other events across the country will be held either a day or a week before the holiday.

There will be several egg hunts available this year for Charlotte area kiddos. Here’s a roundup of some of our favorites. Click here to see all the events and more details about them.

• Hodges Family Farm Spring Fling — Easter egg hunt, Easter bunny visits, farm animals, hayrides
  
  • Date: April 19-20
  • 3900 Rocky River Road East, Charlotte
  • Price: $5 for the egg hunt. Find more information about tickets here.
• McGill’s Easter Eggs-travaganza — egg hunt at the McGill Rose Garden
  • Date: April 13, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
  • 940 N. Davidson, Charlotte
  • Price: $10
• Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden’s Peter Rabbit’s Garden Adventure — crafts, entertainment, Mad Hatter Tea Party
  • Date: April 6, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
  • Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden, 6500 S. New Hope Road, Belmont, NC
  • Price: Free for members, or with General Admission
• North Carolina Transportation Museum Easter Bunny Express — Easter train, egg hunt, Easter bunny visit and photos.
  
  • Date: April 13- 14, April 19-20
  • N.C. Transportation Museum, 411 S. Salisbury Ave., Spencer, NC
  • Price: $13, Children ages 3-12 $9, 2 and under free

While not technically a federal holiday, Americans love themselves some Easter. In fact, 84 percent of Americans planned to celebrate the holiday last year, according to Statista. The figures were based on a survey of more than 1,000 Americans between 18 and 64 years old.

The National Retail Federation puts that number at closer to 80 percent and says those people will drop on average $151 per person on goods such as clothing, candy, cards and flowers.

The most popular Easter traditions, according to Statista, include giving out candy-stuffed baskets (60 percent), hunting for eggs (57 percent), painting eggs (55 percent) and going to church (51 percent). Less popular activities included going to an Easter party — yes, that’s apparently a thing — attending a parade, egg rolling, and eating hot cross buns, which are just buns marked with a cross that contain dried fruit. They’re traditionally eaten during Lent.

The Statista survey also showed how diverse Americans really are. As you probably know, Easter is traditionally a Christian holiday celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, people started painting and decorating Easter eggs during the 13th century.

“The church prohibited the eating of eggs during Holy Week, but chickens continued to lay eggs during that week, and the notion of specially identifying those as ‘Holy Week’ eggs brought about their decoration,” the encyclopedia page states. “The egg itself became a symbol of the Resurrection.”

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.