Report by Paula Antolini, March 21, 2023, 3:30PM EDT
It appears that the word “Easter” is no longer offensive in Bethel, decided the Bethel Parks and Recreation Department this year, in contrast to the previous year’s decision to remove it from the title of the event and poster.
In an article entitled Bethel Drops ‘Easter’ from ‘Egg Hunt’, reported by the Bethel Advocate in April 2022, the Bethel Parks and Recreation Department dropped the word “Easter” from the poster advertising the yearly event, and called it an “Egg Hunt” instead. At the time, we asked Director Eileen Earle, “Why the change?” Earle stated, “We’re just trying to stay neutral, so we’re not trying to offend anyone religiously.“ She said they are, “just trying to do a nice egg hunt for the kids.“
This year the word “Easter” mysteriously returned to the advertising poster, as shown on the Parks & Recreation Department new post today on Facebook. Why the change again?
We checked back with Director Earle, who just announced her retirement this year after 37 years, and she said, “We decided that, having the change, because it’s related to Easter and the Easter bunny. It’s not related to anything religious it’s just the Easter bunny.” Earle added, “We did some research and we related it to the Easter bunny with eggs. It’s not anything religious so we decided to put it back in.”
Earle did not indicate what prompted this decision to revisit last year’s removal of the word “Easter”.
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This year’s poster 2023:
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Last year’s poster 2022:
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