Easter

HAGERSTOWN _ To follow Dean Burkett's sleight of hand, you almost needed a GPS. Rubber balls vanished within ripples of colorful cloths. Loose change appeared inside Coke bottles and a little abracadabra produced a rope out of thin air. It was a Saturday morning of magic at the Contemporary School of the Arts and Gallery in downtown Hagerstown --and it was difficult to tell who was having more fun, the children or the adults. The local magician invited members of the audience to participate in most of the illusions, which ranged from card tricks to pulling a rabbit out of a hat. In this case, the rabbit wasn't real, but was wooden.

Marty Walls picks some of the remaining Easter flowers at the Food Lion in Greencastle, Pa., on Sunday night.

If you offer candy, they will come. Municipal Stadium in Hagerstown became a field of dreams on Saturday as thousands of children realized their biggest fantasy - the ground covered in sweets. In an area of the ballpark where players prowl for line drives and home runs are smashed over the fences, children scrambled for plastic eggs filled with treats. It was a free communitywide egg hunt organized by Lifehouse Church, an event held in partnership with local businesses. “It's our way of reaching out to children and families, sharing our love and providing everyone with a fun day,” said Sheliea Athey, administrative assistant for the church's outreach team.

Golden eggs Each child listed below won a bicycle for finding one of the three golden eggs that were hidden during Saturday afternoon's Great Egg Hunt at City Park. · William Fowlkes, 9, of Hagerstown · ayvien Sandridge, 8, of Hagerstown · Lakyn Unger, 4, of Hancock

WILLIAMSPORT -- The smell of chocolate wafts through the air as the friendly chatter of a half-dozen women is heard in the distance. For several weeks before Easter, on Monday and Tuesday evenings in Calvary Temple's small kitchen, a team of experienced candy makers cranks out an assortment of candy eggs. They make about 250 to 300 eggs an evening. This is the biggest fundraiser for the Ladies' Auxiliary of the Williamsport church, a project they started 13 years ago. The women make five varieties of candy Easter eggs - chocolate-covered peanut butter, chocolate-covered coconut, white chocolate-covered peanut butter, white chocolate-covered coconut and what they refer to as the ultimate Smoothie egg, peanut butter covered with peanut butter chocolate.

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.

Asbury United Methodist Church in Charles Town invites the community to participate in a Rise & Shine 5K run/walk and kids' dash at 8 a.m. Saturday, March 30, on the bike path at W.Va. 9 and Currie Road in Ranson W.Va. The event is free, but donations will be accepted to benefit the Asbury new sign fund. Registration will be available the morning of the event. For more information, call 304-725-5513 or go to www.myasburychurch.org .

On Easter, parents hide brightly colored eggs. Children dig through decorated baskets for chocolates and candies. Church-goers don new clothes and sing joyful songs about the power of God. Families gather to eat a holiday meal. Easter is the high point of the Christian year, the celebration of Jesus Christ's return to life after being killed by Roman authorities. Jesus' resurrection represents God's triumph over death. But for the increasing number of Americans who are non-Christian, Easter is just another weekend day. Phillip Whitley of Chambersburg, Pa., paused from shopping in downtown Hagerstown to say as much.

What is happening to Easter? When I was a teenager, growing up with a United Methodist preacher and Christian-New Age meditator for parents, Easter was a powerful day. Sunrise services, special music, banners, extra-fancy clothing and a big family dinner - this was Easter for me. We celebrated Easter as the day Jesus Christ came back to life, proving to followers that his preaching was true. But fewer Americans pay attention to this message. This hit me like a stack of bricks three years ago when I suggested to my team of teenage writers that someone write a story about all the cool things they did to celebrate Easter.

SHARPSBURG -- What better place to celebrate the rise of Jesus Christ than overlooking an area known as "Bloody Lane," said The Rev. Delancy L. Catlett. Catlett, of Christ Reformed UCC in Sharpsburg, was one of about 130 people who participated in a sunrise church service on Easter Sunday at Antietam National Battlefield. "Where else do you celebrate the rise of Christ ... His triumph over death," Catlett said. Christians celebrate Easter as the day that Jesus rose from the dead, three days after his crucifixion.

The Smithsburg Lions Club and the Smithsburg Community Activities Committee recently hosted an egg hunt for the children of the surrounding communities.  There were more than 1,000 eggs filled with candy by the two groups. There were 52 special eggs with monetary and door prize tickets. Approximately 85 children with their parents attended the event to find the eggs. Children also received a bag of candy, refreshments provided by the Smithsburg Market and snack cakes provided by Little Debbie's distributors.

The three newest members of Boy Scout Troop 412 - Sean Maguire, Brendan Heisler and Joshua Macias - recently participated in the Easter egg roll at the White House in Washington, D.C., on April 1. They represented their troop and the Mason-Dixon Council at the traditional event that dates to 1861. On that date, President Abraham Lincoln's son, Tad, hosted the first documented informal egg-rolling party. The tradition today, known as the Easter egg roll, was established by President Rutherford B. Hayes and his wife, Lucy.

A New Jersey man has been identified as the person who died of injuries sustained in a single-vehicle accident on Easter Sunday, the Berkeley County Sheriff's Department said Friday. Frank Stephen Kula II, 53, of Bordentown Township, N.J., died at City Hospital in Martinsburg following the Sunday, March 31, crash at the intersection of Apple Harvest Drive and State Circle, according to a sheriff's department news release. Kula was driving a Volvo west on Apple Harvest Drive at 3:03 a.m. when he lost control of the car, deputies said.

What a glorious time of year; spring arrived 11 days ago (7:05 a.m. March 20); today is Easter; the opening game for Major League Baseball is tonight; and last week a conservative Republican delegate from Washington County, Md., introduced a bill with the word “tax” in its title. Wow, where to start! As most Christians, as well as most believers, regardless of religious persuasion, agree, I'll start with God. I'm no great religious or Christian theologian so the following paragraph is what the Easter season means to me. Quite obviously, you might see it differently and my only wish is that you reflect on the newness that comes with the season and remember the blessing of life.

A local professor at Hagerstown Community College put together an Easter dinner with his students at the Salvation Army on Friday. Daniel Madron, who teaches sociology at HCC, said that he and his classes have been providing a Thanksgiving meal and an Easter meal for local residents for the last three years. “We just kind of want to create some sort of normalcy for people,” he said. “Even though people might not be religious and celebrate Easter, they still know that Easter's going on and still might have a big Sunday dinner, and for people who can't afford that we want to be able to provide something similar to that.” Madron, 29, also did work for the homeless while he was a professor at Howard Community College and as a student at Eastern University in Philadelphia He said that the students' outreach was different at Howard Community College.

If you offer candy, they will come. Municipal Stadium in Hagerstown became a field of dreams on Saturday as thousands of children realized their biggest fantasy - the ground covered in sweets. In an area of the ballpark where players prowl for line drives and home runs are smashed over the fences, children scrambled for plastic eggs filled with treats. It was a free communitywide egg hunt organized by Lifehouse Church, an event held in partnership with local businesses. “It's our way of reaching out to children and families, sharing our love and providing everyone with a fun day,” said Sheliea Athey, administrative assistant for the church's outreach team.

Saturday's Easter egg hunts • 10 a.m. Hagerstown Church of the Nazarene, 141 N. Edgewood Drive, Hagerstown. For ages 1 to 12. Bring Easter bags. • 10 a.m. Byron Memorial Park, off U.S. 11, Williamsport. Sponsored by Williamsport Fire and EMS. Call 301-223-9112. • 10 a.m. to noon. Municipal Stadium, 274 Memorial Blvd. East, Hagerstown. Lifehouse Church hosts event open to children 12 and younger. Children ages 1 to 4 will participate from 10 to 10:30 a.m. Those in kindergarten through third grade will participate from 10:45 to 11:15 a.m. Fourth- and fifth-graders participate from 11:30 a.m. to noon.  Go to www.lifehousechurch.org . • 10:30 a.m. Pleasant Hall Volunteer Fire Co., 9722 Cumberland Highway, Pleasant Hall, Pa. The Easter Bunny will attend for parents to take photos.

This week many eggs will be hard-cooked and dyed for use in Easter baskets and egg hunts. Hard-cooked eggs are easy to prepare and easy to keep safe.  1. Place eggs in a saucepan and fill with cold water to one inch above eggs. 2. Cover the pan and quickly bring the water to a boil. 3. Turn off the heat, remove the pan from the burner, and allow the eggs to stand (covered) for 12 minutes for medium-size eggs; 15 minutes for large eggs; 18 minutes for extra large eggs and 21 minutes for jumbo eggs.

Sharing thanks for Easter To the editor: We look forward to Easter, especially the young ones for their basket of candy and eggs, but they know because they have been told there is more to it than those things. Mankind has done, is doing and will continue to make mistakes because we are human, having qualities good and bad. We needed help. God saw this and came to our aid. Sin is costly. The price had to be paid and he let his son, Jesus, die on a cross so we could have forgiveness.

The Hagerstown Rescue Mission Ladies Auxiliary will hold an Easter bake sale Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the mission store. Items available for sale include candy, cakes, pies, pickled eggs and other items. All proceeds will be used to purchase items needed at the Rescue Mission. The store is at 125 N. Prospect St. in Hagerstown.