Great Falls Optimist Club

2009 Great Falls Spring Festival

         This year's Spring Festival, the 25th annual, will be even bigger and better than last year! Local nonprofits and businesses will fill the field behind the post office with games, plants and crafts for sale, and freebies for the kids; there will be inflatable "rides" such as moon bounces and climbing walls for children of all ages; pony rides; hay rides; loads of food vendors; a fire truck and fire safety "house"; an honest-to-goodness calliope; lots of music by live bands and singers; demonstrations of tae kwon do, yoga, pottery making, and more; face painting; arts and crafts; an antique car show; the ever-popular treasure hunt on the Village Green; a fabulous raffle and an adult treasure chest.

Come hungry! Numerous food vendors will be on hand, selling, funnel cakes, cotton candy, candy apples, french fries, roasted pit beef, Italian sausage, hot dogs, Philly cheese steaks, burgers, BBQ, sandwiches, chicken fingers, ice cream cones and sundaes, smoothies, salads, gyros, freshly-made donuts, kettle korn and more, brought to you by:

Big Fat Daddy’s

Deli Italiano

Fractured Prune/Donuts Made to Order

Giffords Ice Cream

The House of Food and Funnel Cakes

Old Fashion Kettle Korn Company

Pizzarama

 As you may know, this event was launched 25 years ago by Adeler Jewelers. Jorge Adeler started the tradition of having an egg hunt on the Village Green on Palm Sunday. All of the plastic eggs contained candy, but many more also contained valuable gems, which he donated. Funds raised through the event were donated to the Great Falls Optimist Club and, in return, the Club provided staffing and other assistance for the event. Through the years, the egg hunt grew to include carnival-type rides and 8,000 eggs "hidden" around the Village Green. In some years, as many as 850 children and their families participated. As it grew in size, we also divided the Village Green into separate areas for various age groups, so that the littlest children were actually able to "find" eggs before the older ones grabbed them all.

 After 23 years of hard work, dedication and community spirit, the Adelers passed the baton to the Optimist Club, and we were delighted to try and fill their "big shoes." Once again this year, the children’s treasure hunt will contain gems donated by Adeler Jewelers.

It is a fun-filled, family-oriented day of activities. Click on the links on left or below for more details and photos from last year's event.