Easter in Royalton

By Johnna Prater
Royalton Community Oversight Committee

The Easter Bunny has come and gone and, although we did not see him on Saturday at the Battlefield Park in Half Mountain, Ky, he left behind a whole lot of eggs! With these eggs there were 3 bouncy houses, 4 bicycles, numerous games, activities and awesome food for all. The day can be summed up as fun, food, and fellowship for everyone that attended.

The volunteers and the contributions both public and private were overwhelming.

Without all of you, this even could have never happened. Without everyone who helped, it would have only been wishful thinking for Paul Bailey, Marlene Howard, Karen Merritt, and Johnna Prater-the Royalton Community Council (RCC).

We would like to thank all the companies, candidates and individuals that came together to make this event one that people will be talking about for a long time in hopes that we can have more like it in the future.

Thank you to Pepsi, IGA, Zola Bailey and Save-A-Lot, Frito Lay, The Seasonal Shoppe/Frazier Prater Drug, Poor Boy Produce, Williams Electric, Risner General Store, South Magoffin Elementary School, Doug and Sue Mortimer/Magoffin Goods Unlimited, Salyersville National Bank, Appalachian Smoke LLC, Bill Harpers Garage, Josie Bailey, Nadine Fraley, Russell Sparks, and Wal-Mart Paintsville Ky.

We would also like to thank this year’s candidates that donated to this event: Matthew Wireman, Travis Joseph, Rick Howard, Renee Shepherd, Bill Meade, Jeff Lovely, Becky Allen, Joe Bailey, Robert “James” Bailey, Tony Allen, Ray McCarty, and David Neil Howard.

There were so many individuals who donated money, candy, food and time to this event and we thank you so much for every piece of candy, every plastic egg, the tasty hot dog sauce you made for our hotdogs, the burnt fingers from grilling 400 hotdogs, the backaches from all the games and activities you helped the kids with and the eggs that were put out, and all the time you spent helping us in this huge undertaking. We could not have done it alone. You know who you are and how much we appreciate you and your love for Royalton. We had supplies delivered from UPS, USPS, FedEx from all over – people who wanted to help make this Easter Festival be the best one ever for our area.

And finally a big thanks to Pastor Clay Herd and the parishioners of the Licking River Baptist Church that the RCC partnered with to put everything together. You all stuck in there from beginning to end to help both our dreams come true on this event and we feel blessed to have partnered with you on this endeavor.

The RCC believes that Battlefield Park is one of the most beautiful parks in Eastern Kentucky and we would like to see it used for all kinds of festivals, celebrations and family events. We look forward to planning many more events in the near future. We hope you look forward to attending them, starting with our fourth-annual Walnut Festival this October that will be the best one yet!