Artful Egg event welcomes spring at Wintergreen

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — The Wintergreen Arts Center was filled with color and the excitement of the upcoming Easter holiday during the 11th annual Artful Egg event on Saturday. 

During two hour-and-a-half-long sessions, 76 children and their families took advantage of the many Easter-themed activities the center offered, including basket making, egg decorating, arts and crafts, edible art and a cake walk where winners could choose a box of cupcakes to bring home. The event was a community effort that featured 22 volunteers from local elementary, middle and high schools, MMG Insurance and Wintergreen at 14 activity stations.

Artful Egg is one of several holiday-themed events that Wintergreen hosts annually and this year saw numerous children getting their hands sticky with glue, glitter and tissue paper as they decorated Easter eggs. Emma Coulter, 7, concentrated intently as she decorated an egg with pink, orange and green tissue paper.

“I’m going to put the egg in my basket afterward,” she said, when asked what she would do with her finished artwork. Her basket, filled with green grass and leaves, sat on the table while she worked.

“She’s always had fun with Wintergreen events in the past, so we decided to come back again,” said Emma’s mother, Eliza Coulter. “Anything that involves crafts and getting their hands messy is fun for children and the center offers a lot of things for them to do.”

The multiple craft stations allowed families to move through activities at their own pace and children could be seen going from basket making to egg decorating to the other activities excitedly. Michaela Rhinebolt, 7, learned how to make a “chicken plate” by weaving yellow string through a chicken-shaped hole in a paper plate, though she said her favorite activity was making a sock bunny.

“We come to a lot of the holiday events here and they’re all wonderful,” said Michaela’s mother, Holly Rhinebolt.

Basket making proved to be one of the most popular events of the day, with some families stopping at that station before decorating eggs. Erica Peabody and her children Aimee, 8, Barrett, 6, and Piersen, 3, drove all the way from Houlton to attend Artful Egg. The siblings later left with their own Easter eggs and baskets and three boxes of cupcakes won from the cakewalk.

“They all enjoy activities that let them be creative,” Erica Peabody said.

Wintergreen Board of Directors Chairman Kim Guerrette Michaud said that the event required 30 dozen cupcakes and 18 dozen hard-boiled eggs, all of which were donated by various individuals and community organizations such as Northern pARTners and MMG Insurance. All proceeds from Artful Egg, which cost $15 per child, went toward Wintergreen’s funds to purchase general supplies and equipment and cover costs of operation.

“Families love events where they get to create together and I think this one in particular is a sign that spring is finally coming to Aroostook County. People are out and about more on Saturdays and we like to give them something fun to do.”