Kona’s Easter traditions going strong

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KAILUA-KONA — Residents looking to kick-start their Easter weekend can hop over to the Old Kona Airport soccer field Saturday morning, where kids have a chance to hunt for 40,000 eggs at the annual Easter Egg Rush, put on by The Hub Church.

KAILUA-KONA — Residents looking to kick-start their Easter weekend can hop over to the Old Kona Airport soccer field Saturday morning, where kids have a chance to hunt for 40,000 eggs at the annual Easter Egg Rush, put on by The Hub Church.

Registration for the event starts at 7:30 that morning with the first rush kicking off at 9 a.m.

Children as old as sixth grade can participate in the event, and organizers say it’s fun for the whole family.

“We’ve been doing this for over 20 years and every year it keeps on getting better and better and better,” said Pastor Zac Chang-Cordero.

In addition to the egg hunt, the event will feature food, games, grand prizes and other activities, Chang-Cordero said. Everything, he added, is free and open to all.

“It’s a great opportunity actually for the community to come together and just have fun,” he said.

Last year, he said, the event attracted between 3,000 and 4,000 people.

It also helps to perpetuate their mission and vision to “connect with God, connect with others and connect with the world.”

“And this is how we do it,” he said. “This is how we connect; we help build bridges for people that maybe have never heard the gospel before and we use this event as a tool to let them know Jesus is real and Jesus is good.”

Then on Sunday, a team of ministers from throughout the area will welcome Easter Sunday with the “Community Sonrise Service,” starting at 6 a.m. at the Old Kona Airport baseball fields, said Pastor Bruce Campbell, president of the Kona Ministers Fellowship.

The event, which Campbell said is in about its 36th year, is open to anyone and everyone who wants to attend.

This year’s theme will be “He makes all things new.”

He said he wants attendees to come away with an understanding of Jesus’ death and that “through faith in him, your life can be made new.”

“So that people who may be living with guilt or sin or issues of their life not being right, that by coming to Christ, he can make that new,” Campbell said.

The annual celebration, he added, draws between 1,000 and 2,000 people from across the Christian faith, coming together for a day that transcends the differences among specific denominations.

“I think one is we’re celebrating the common theme that only comes around once a year and that is the resurrection of Christ,” said Campbell. “And I think that’s the one thing all these people have in common.”

“And the second thing is just being able to celebrate it together with other people that believe the same thing but maybe not quite believe everything in the Bible the way you believe it,” he added. “So it’s fun to see that kinda unity, a little of bit of a gathering on something we do all agree on.”