Youngsters race to find the year's first Easter eggs

Apr 2, 2017

"Look at all those eggs!" yelled five-year-old Ayva Yarde.

"You can already see them!" answered friend Ella Cronin.

The two girls gazed over the approximately 2,000 Easter eggs coloring Apponagansett Park on April 2, while mom asked them what their gathering strategy would be.

"We're going to run to the swing set. It's going to be like stealing candy from a baby," responded a very excited Yarde.

It took Parks and Recreation staff about 30 minutes to spread the eggs around the park, and set up the raffle table. It took about half that time for the 100 egg-seekers to clear the field, but it was worth it, said Director Tim Lancaster.

"It really is one of the only free events we get to do with the kids," he said, also listing the Christmas celebration at the middle school.

For parents, the cold wind coming up from the water was only a minor setback.

"The Easter egg hunt, it's comraderie," said parent Peter Freitas. "It's certainly not the warm weather [that brought us out]," he finished sarcastically.

This was just the beginning of the Easter celebration for sisters Emerson and Lorelei Bernard.

"We plant gum balls and one jelly bean [for the Easter Bunny]," said five-year-old Emerson.

Participants found smarties, tootsie rolls, and other wrapped candies in their eggs. They also snagged a photo with the Easter Bunny, who had greeted them at the park.