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No candy? Raleigh parks plan healthier Easter egg hunts

Don't expect a basket full of candy at Raleigh parks' Easter egg hunts. This year, you'll find some snacks, along with other prizes such as stickers, erasers, bubbles, stampers and finger puppets.

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Sarah Lindenfeld Hall
RALEIGH, N.C. — Don't expect a basket full of candy after a trip to one of Raleigh parks' Easter egg hunts this year.
Instead, the city is hoping to emphasize healthy eating and physical activity instead of a mad candy scramble. The hunts are scheduled for 11 a.m., March 23, at 10 parks across the city, including Pullen Park, Brier Creek Community Center, Anderson Point and Millbrook Exchange Community Center.

This year, eggs will be filled with snacks and prizes rather than candy. The list includes stickers, tattoos, erasers, bubbles, crayons, finger puppets and bouncy balls. Some prizes, such as pencils, may be scattered around the hunt area, but not in an actual egg.

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Some eggs also will have pretzels, Goldfish crackers or fruit snacks. The snacks were selected with the families of children with some allergies in mind as the items don't have peanuts or tree nuts.

Another change this year: Some of the eggs will be Eco Eggs, which are plant instead of petroleum-based eggs made in the United States.

They are BPA free, have 100 percent renewable content and can be composted after use. The eggs also are larger than the traditional plastic eggs so they can accommodate some of the larger prizes this year, Kellee Beach with the city's parks department tells me.

I, for one, am thrilled about this change and hope other egg hunts will follow suit. I'm shocked each year how much Valentine's Day and Easter have equaled Halloween in the candy-getting category.

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