Spring is in the air, and the city of Sedona’s annual Celebration of Spring will take place at Posse Grounds Park on Saturday, March 30, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission to the event and the carnival rides, bounce houses, petting zoo and egg hunt will be free, while the face painters and food truck vendors will set their own pricing.

“That’s been the directive since I’ve taken over special events,” Parks and Recreation Special Events Coordinator Jason Vargo said. “The directive that I’ve received [is] that if at all possible, we can make these events and amenities free to our community.”

While there have been complaints about parking for Celebration of Spring in the past, Vargo said that extending the event by two hours this year could improve the situation.

“Keep your eyes out for the event parking signs, we will have additional parking up Soldier Pass available,” Vargo said. Additional overflow parking will be available at West Sedona School with other parking spaces along Soldier Pass Road.

The Celebration of Spring may be Parks and Recreation’s largest physical event — Vargo was uncertain — and the lineup of free carnival rides so far includes a Ferris wheel, loop-o-plane, super-slide, an elephant tower with a rock wall, an inflatable obstacle course and, for the smaller children, a six-lane carousel carnival slide; additional attractions may be announced. “Itty Bitty Pony Parties will be bringing a menagerie of animals for the community to interact with and they will be able to pet as well as pamper the animals,” Vargo said, while pointing out that attendees will not be able to ride the ponies. “They can dress up the animals a little bit. There will be different [wigs] and hats.”

Over 22,000 eggs are waiting to be found by youth under the age of 12; however, the event is bring your own basket, and the egg hunts will start exactly on time. The schedule for the egg hunts is:

10:30 a.m.: Ages 2 and under. This is the only age group in which parents can search with their children.

11:00 a.m.: Ages 3 to 5

11:30 a.m.: Ages 6 to 8

Noon: Ages 9 to 12

“There will be random prize tickets in the eggs that lucky egg hunters will be able to exchange at the Parks and Recreation booth for prizes,” Vargo said. “Prizes are going to range by age and type, but there will be lots of fun options to choose from … There are some toys, there are some branded items like frisbees and tote bags [that have] the city of Sedona logo. There are also some spring-themed prizes and a couple of [surprise] grand prizes.”

This year’s food truck options include vendors selling barbecue, Mexican food, shaved ice, coffee and ice cream.