The sun was shining, the wind was blowing and anticipation rang high as kids from around Dartmouth awaited the signal to begin their hunt. 

Dozens of brightly colored plastic eggs were scattered across Apponagansett Park on Saturday, April 19 for the Parks and Recreation Department’s annual Easter Egg Hunt. 

As kids arrived, they took pictures with the Easter Bunny and got their baskets ready for filling. 

The hunt was over almost as quickly as it began with kids taking over the grassy area. 

“I got so many eggs. That’s what I like,” said Brody Oliviera, 6. He predicts he collected about “one million” of the town’s eggs and is hoping to find a duck inside at least one of them. 

Samantha Oliviera said although they live in Dartmouth, this was the first year her family joined for the hunt. 

They almost weren’t going to be able to this year because they were seeing the monster trucks at Gillette Stadium last weekend when the event was originally scheduled. However, the hunt’s postponement brought better weather and apparently the Oliviera family. 

“It was great,” Samantha said. “I think they had a ton of eggs for the kids and it was super fun. It was great that they separated the age groups.”

Dartmouth’s Avarie Botelho, 4, said Easter is “so much fun!”

Feeling as though she collected “a thousand” eggs, Botelho is hoping to find a good amount of chocolate.

Fernanda Betancort was joined by Oliver Betancort, 5, at the hunt for the first time this year. 

She said she thought it was “amazing,” with “a lot of eggs and a lot of fun.”

“The baskets they did for the raffle were super cool,” Fernanda added.

She and Samantha agreed the park was a great place to host the hunt as the kids love to go there. After the hunt, some of the kids, including theirs, stay to run around on the playground.

As her mom pushed her on the swing, Victoria Braga, 3, said her favorite part of Easter is taking pictures with the Easter Bunny because not only does he hop, but he also has eggs.

“I liked getting them,” she said, noting her favorite candy is Reese’s.

Wendy Braga said her family has been coming to the annual egg hunt for years.

“I think it was good,” she said. “It’s always kind of the same.”