Cathedral of the Palms to Host Easter Eggstravaganza

Colorful eggs, decorative baskets, chocolate bunnies and....bicycles.

While the latter might not conjure up visions of Easter in most people's minds, for Deana Ramirez, administrative assistant at Cathedral of the Palms in Corpus Christi, Texas, giving away bicycles (along with a few other gadgets) has been a part of her church's way of celebrating Easter for the last 18 years.

"I'm getting ready to buy a go-cart," Ramirez said. "But right now, I'm stuffing eggs. There's 30,000 pieces of candy that are being stuffed into these eggs."

Purchasing go-carts and stuffing 30,000 pieces of candy into more than 15,000 eggs is just one of the many ways Ramirez and other members of Cathedral of the Palms are preparing for the church's 18^th annual "Easter Eggstravaganza," a huge family-style Easter egg hunt that is free and open to the public.

"This is an outreach we've been given to reach people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ," said Senior Pastor, Gloria Farjardo. "Everywhere I go, people tell me how they came to this event and it changed their lives. How they received salvation or they came and gave their heart to the Lord."

The event, which is for toddlers to teenagers, will be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Easter Sunday, March 23rd, at Cole Park Amphitheater (1526 Ocean Drive) and will include games, food, praise and worship, live drama and Tejano music.

In addition to all the festivities, the church will hold a drawing to give away Easter baskets, as well as more than 50 bicycles, two DVD players, skateboards, two dirt bikes and a few miscellaneous items.

"We gave away a motorcycle about five years ago and there was probably between 8,000 and 10,000 people there," said Ramirez. "Normally, depending on the weather, there's about 3,000 people."

The church's Music and Youth Pastor, Dale Wommack and his wife, Susan, got the idea for the outreach after they attended a pastor's conference in Phoenix, Arizona. The church's first Easter egg hunts were held on the church lawn and included petting zoos, clowns and puppet shows. The event was moved to Cole Park seven years ago in an effort to broaden its impact.

"[Cole Park] was a neutral zone," Wommack explained. "It wasn't a church so people wouldn't feel left out."

Ramirez said the outreach, which usually garners between 400 and 500 salvation cards, has led people who came to the event to start going to church and seek a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

"We don't do this just to give people bikes and candy," said Ramirez. "The main reason we do this is so we can bring ministry to the city."

Anyone who wishes to sign up for the Easter egg hunt should arrive at Cole Park by 4 p.m. All names will automatically be registered for the prize drawing.

Cathedral of the Palms is located at 3401 S. Alameda St. in Corpus Christi, Texas.

For more information call Cathedral of the Palms at (361) 853-0126.