Youngsters search for Easter prizes

March 27, 2005|By PEPPER BALLARD

HAGERSTOWN

One silver egg won 9-year-old Angelica Scott and her 3-year-old cousin, Mariyah Scott, a bicycle at Saturday's second annual Great Egg Hunt at City Park, but sharing the prize appeared harder than sharing the glory.

Angelica tugged on the tassels hanging from the bicycle's handlebars as Mariyah sat upon it, sucking a pacifier.

Other prize winners swarmed the amphitheater to trade in their prized silver eggs for rewards such as a Little Tikes car or other bicycles.

The girls were among 1,400 people who turned out Saturday afternoon at City Park for the event, which included hunts for 5,000 eggs and songs and dialogues about the true meaning of Easter facilitated by members of Tri-State Fellowship, a Hagerstown evangelical church.

Santa Claus traveled through a crowd slinging candy in the air. A mob of children followed him, giggling and screaming.

Children sprinted across the grass when Eric Boutieller, the church's associate pastor of student ministries, directed the crowd according to age groups to separate sites for hunts.

Some children had an idea where to go.

Ben Seifert, 8, of Hagerstown, scoped out some silver eggs before the children got the nod. He said it was hard to resist grabbing one before the game began.

Ben said if all else failed, he would go for "the easiest ones."

Mercedes Widdows, 8, had the same idea: "I go out and see where they are so I can get one faster."

But some children said they didn't have a master plan.

Tyler Miller, 10, said he just planned to run and grab eggs.

"He's looking for the silver eggs," said his mother, Billie Richardson, 27. "It's pretty obvious where they are."

Tyler eyed a field prior to the hunt's start where eggs were scattered evenly. He acknowledged that the field was more than likely for the smaller children.

Katelynn Davis, 4, won a Little Tikes car by finding a silver egg "in the rocks."

She grinned from ear to ear.

Sierra Resseger, 6, said she wasn't worried that she didn't snag a silver egg. She had about 10 eggs in her shopping bag and said she was happy.

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