As the clouds parted, revealing a beautiful sunny Saturday, the stage was set at Apponagansett Park for Dartmouth’s first town-sponsored Easter egg hunt since 2019.

Parks and Recreation Director Tim Lancaster, whose department put on the event for the 10th time on April 9, said that he was happy just to have the event back but was even more pleased with the weather.

“We’re glad to finally get back together and have everyone out,” he said. “It’s a great day, one of the warmest we’ve ever done.”

Lancaster said that about 90 people had registered for the hunt, which was open to kids 3 to 7 years old, with a few extra spots set aside for walk-ins.

Before the excitement began, the event organizers pulled tickets for the raffle, which featured prizes like Easter baskets and a big stuffed bunny.

One of the baskets went to sisters Alexandria and Milania Amaral, who said they had just been planning to go to the playground on the way back from a different Easter egg hunt when they stumbled upon the festivities at just the right time.

“We were just coming here and saw all these people here and then bam!” Alexandria said, holding her Easter basket proudly.

When the raffle was over, Lancaster addressed the crowd.

The children were lined up at the edge of the hunting ground like sprinters on their starting blocks as Lancaster explained the rules, which included separate areas for younger and older children.

They could hardly contain their excitement as hundreds of plastic eggs — filled with candy, toys and other goodies — gleamed tantalizingly from the field in front of them.

Then, finally, Lancaster unleashed them and for a few short minutes the park filled with the chaos of 100 stampeding children screaming with delight.

When the last few eggs were collected, the children filed out of the park with their parents, smiling proudly at their Easter treats.

One little girl who was smiling especially broadly was Lorelei Houbre, who had not only filled her wicker basket with eggs but won an Easter basket in the raffle to boot.

“I got as many eggs as I wanted,” she exclaimed. “I won a prize!”