The Hillsboro Uptown Business Association (HUBA) hosted close to 300 kids for a Saturday Easter egg hunt and now it is preparing for its May First Friday event.
Joe Mahan, HUBA president, estimated that about 275 kids turned out at the old Hillsboro High School location off West Main Street on Saturday to hunt Easter eggs in four age groups. He said each age group had an egg worth a $20 prize and another worth a $10 prize, plus there were other specially marked eggs that won kids in each group things like stuffed animals, Play-Doh, basketballs, kick balls and the like.
The association also gave away 100 kites during the event and Mahan said several kids stuck around to give them a try.
The kites were donated by the Hillsboro Walmart. Mahan said Charles Barger and the Hillsboro Elks also donated prizes, and the city of Hillsboro and Hillsboro City Schools helped sponsor the egg hunt.
“The old school is just about the best place we could have to hold the event and we’d like to thank the Hillsboro Board of Education for that,” Mahan said. “There’s plenty of parking and lots of open grass, so we couldn’t ask for a better location. The weather was nice and the wind was just strong enough to get the kites off the ground so some of the kids stuck around and did that.”
Now HUBA turns its attention to its next First Friday event on Friday, May 5. It will be HUBA’s first cruise-in of the year and will have A Ladies Night Out theme.
Mahan said various businesses will be open from about 5-8 p.m. and the cruise-in will take place around the same time in the uptown Hillsboro area.
Tickets for the Ladies Night Out event are one for $3 or two for $5 and Mahan said they are limited to the first 100 women to purchase them. He said every person with a ticket will receive a bag they can keep that will be full of different goodies, Bell’s Opera House will be open for tours, carriage rides will be provided by Double D Hitch from Marshall, a special Kitchen Aid mixer will be auctioned off, and local businesses and other groups catering to women will be set up in the Samaritan Outreach Services Uptown Community Room located at 110 S. High St.
One ticket for the mixer raffle will be included in the bag women receive when they purchase a ticket for the Ladies Night Out event, then they can receive additional raffle tickets for each $10 of merchandise they purchase that evening at participating businesses.
For those unfamiliar with the Uptown Community Room, it is operated by Samaritan Outreach and is used for fundraisers, Toys for Tots, Ohio Benefit Bank appointments, and more, and is also available for rent to community members for things like fundraisers, parties and receptions. It has 3,800 square feet of event space; a caterer’s kitchen with a refrigerator, sinks, counters and storage; banquet tables and chairs; remodeled restrooms; and more than 100 parking spaces within a city block.
HUBA will host another First Friday event on Friday, June 2, then will take July off when the Festival of the Bells is held in Hillsboro. HUBA will return with an August First Friday event and several other outings throughout the remainder of the year.
“We just try to do whatever we can to help get people in those uptown businesses with the custom paint jobs,” Mahan said. “We learn a little bit each year and we think we have improved on last year’s events.”
Reach Jeff Gilliland at 937-402-2522 or on Twitter @13gillilandj.
