Easter 2021: Egg Hunts, Services And Meals In And Near Sarasota

SARASOTA, FL — Easter celebrations across the country and in the Sarasota area will look different from ever before in 2021 as traditional events such as egg hunts, religious services and restaurant deals will go on virtually as well as in person.

In Sarasota, there are numerous egg hunts and Easter Bunny meet-and-greets taking place in person for the little ones. Several local restaurants have created special holiday menus for Easter Sunday.

Upcoming family-friendly events include:

• Easter Egg Hunt for children with autism, Saturday, March 27, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Ashton Elementary School, 5110 Ashton Road, Sarasota. This free event, presented by Face Autism, includes prizes, face painting, arts and crafts, and more. Learn more here.
• An Easter Egg Hunt Saturday, April 3, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at the Meadows Country Club, 3101 Longmeadow in Sarasota. Registration is required for this free event, which includes face painting, balloon animals, games, crafts, prizes.
• An Easter Egg Hunt Saturday, April 3, 10 a.m., at Southside Elementary School, 1901 Webber Street, Sarasota. Families can also meet the Easter Bunny. Register online here.
• Siesta Key Easter Egg Hunt, Saturday, April 3, 9 a.m. to noon, at Turtle Beach, 8699 Turtle Beach Road, Sarasota. Activities include an egg hunt, photos with the Easter Bunny, a fire truck and ambulance drive-by at 10 a.m., children’s games and prizes, Sarasota County Sheriff’s Mounted Patrol, and an animal education session with Big Cat Habitat’s Stella the Sloth at 10:30 a.m. Learn more about this Siesta Key Chamber of Commerce event here.
• Breakfast with the Bunny, Saturday, April 3, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at Laurel Oak Country Club, 2700 Gary Player Blvd., Sarasota.
• Easter Eggstravaganza on Sunday Polo, Sunday, April 4, 1 to 4 p.m., at the Sarasota Polo Club, 8201 Polo Club Lane in Sarasota. Purchase tickets and event packages, which range from $15 to $350, online here.

Enjoy a special Easter Sunday menu at these local restaurants:

• Mattison’s City Grille (1 North Lemon Avenue) and Mattison’s Forty-One (7275 S. Tamiami Trail) in Sarasota. Check out the menus here.
• Bijou Café, 1287 First Street, Sarasota. Check out the menu here.
• Grove, 10670 Boardwalk Loop, Lakewood Ranch. Check out the holiday brunch and dinner menus here.
• Harry’s Continental Kitchen, 5600 Gulf of Mexico Drive, Longboat Key. Check out the menu here.
• Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse, 2001 Siesta Drive, Sarasota. Check out the menu here.

Mostly religious services went virtual during the Easter season last year, when the coronavirus pandemic was still fairly new and most states remained under strict shutdown orders in mid-April. This year, there’s more of a combination of virtual and in-person services taking place with the pandemic having passed the one-year mark.

Here are some religious services planned in the Sarasota area:

• Church of the Palms, 3224 Bee Ridge Road, Sarasota. Livestreamed and in-person services offered. Good Friday Service, Friday, April 2, 6:30 p.m. Easter Sunday Services, Sunday, April 4, 9, 10 and 11 a.m. Easter Sunday Sunrise Service, 6:30 a.m., Lido Beach. Learn more here.
• First Church, 104 S. Pineapple Ave., Sarasota. In-person Easter Sunday Service, Sunday, April 4, 8:30 and 11 a.m. Learn more here.
• Church of Hope, 2300 Lakewood Ranch Blvd., Sarasota. In-person services include Good Friday Night of Worship & Communion, Friday, April 2, 7 p.m. Easter Services Sunday, April 4, 9 and 11 a.m. Learn more here.
• Church of the Redeemer, 222 South Palm Ave., Sarasota. In-person and streamed services include Maundy Thursday, April 1, 6 p.m.; Good Friday, April 2, 10 a.m.; Stations of the Cross on Main Street, 7:30 a.m.; and Easter Mass, Saturday April 3, 6 p.m., and Sunday, April 4, 7 a.m., 9 a.m., and 11 a.m. Learn more here.

Many major American archdioceses, such as in Chicago, will continue to hold virtual services that will be streamed throughout Holy Week, which includes the Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday and Good Friday holidays leading up to Easter.

Good Friday, on April 2 this year, marks the death of Jesus Christ. Easter, two days later, celebrates the time when he was resurrected. The Sunday holiday always occurs on the Sunday after the first full moon of spring, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Religious traditions on Good Friday include periods of silence and fasting for many Christians, prominently in the Catholic faith.

Fairfax United Methodist Church in Virginia is also streaming its Holy Week services, with an in-person service offered to a limited number of attendees on Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter.

Many Protestant churches will have their traditional sunrise services with social distancing in mind. The Daytona Beach Drive-In Christian Church is having its services on Easter morning, while the Colorado Council of Churches canceled its service at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre and instead will have Bishop Kym Lucas of the Episcopal Church in Colorado lead a virtual service.

One of the most celebrated Easter traditions outside of church is the Easter egg hunt, many of which were canceled last year but will return in some form in 2021. In La Grange, Kentucky, an egg hunt is planned in conjunction with a drive-in theater and movie; and St. John’s United Methodist Church in Rock Hill, South Carolina, already held its egg hunt over two sessions, with early sign-ups required.

Want to add a family-friendly event, Easter meal or religious services to the list? Email Tiffany.Razzano@Patch.com.