Families enjoy Easter fun in Alton: “Easter in Alton” event thrown by Sparkle & Sass Handcrafted

By ZACHARY ROMAN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

It was a happy Easter in Alton last weekend. 

On March 29 and 30, local small business Sparkle & Sass Handcrafted hosted “Easter in Alton” at the Alton Legion for the first time.

The event featured a bouncy castle, face painting, Easter egg hunts, pony rides, crafts, games, a food truck, a vendor market, and a very special guest: the Easter Bunny.

Heather Asling, a tutor and music teacher, is the owner of Sparkle & Sass Handcrafted. The company specializes in selling drinkware, and it's also an event management company that runs family-friendly events and markets.

Asling held an Easter event last year, but decided to expand this year by coming to the Alton Legion.

“To have some outdoor space… the Alton Legion is a great location,” she said.

On each day the event was held, Asling held three different Easter egg hunts. Tickets to the event were sold in blocks, so no one egg hunt would be too busy — this way, every child was guaranteed to have a good time.

“We had a lot of really good feedback… we had a really good turnout. Thankfully, the weather cooperated,” said Asling.

Over the course of the weekend, several hundred people came to celebrate Easter in Alton.

“I wanted to do something local for families that was affordable, fun and entertaining,” she said. “My goal really was to exhaust the children, to which I had a lot of feedback that the kids were really tired and naptime came and things were good — and the older ones that don't nap conked out early.”

Asling said there was a lot of great participation from the community at the event.

“It was a really positive experience, exhausting but rewarding,” she said. “It was an amazing group of people coming together.”