Coronavirus Response
Fort Worth cracks down on egg hunts at parks on Easter Sunday
To help curb the spread of COVID-19, Fort Worth will close vehicle access to many popular parks on Easter Sunday, April 12, city officials announced April 7.
That means no egg hunts or scrambles in city parks, no family picnics, and no cute-kid snaps with the Easter bunny under a tree.
"Easter is one of the busiest days of the year in the park system, but residents are urged to stay home or limit park visits to short walks or bike rides to keep the parks from becoming overcrowded," the city says in a statement.
"The city’s Stay Home ¬ Work Safe Order (which now lasts until April 30) allows for healthy outdoor activities such as walking, biking, hiking, golfing, or running, provided participants maintain the 6-foot social distancing requirement from people outside their household," they go on to say. "However, egg hunts, parties, and other group activities that encourage gathering are not permitted."
Police and code enforcement officers may issue citations to those who gather and don't follow social distancing standards, they say.
Curiously, they say nothing about Easter-Eve Saturday, a day that's also usually quite popular for egg hunts and bunny pics, since Sunday is for God, family, and ham with all the trimmings.
Alas, no one should go rogue. By now everyone knows the "no gatherings" rule, whether or not the city has to block vehicle access to gathering places.
Although parks and trails officially remain open around Fort Worth, playgrounds are off limits, and basketball hoops and volleyball nets have been taken down.
Texas state parks have now been closed, too.
About the best thing to do on Easter is to stay home and eat a feast prepared by a local restaurant to-go. There just happens to be a list for that here.