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Searching for a golden egg
More than 3,500 attend annual event
6 Egg Hunt pic 3
Dressed in their Sunday bests, several little girls wait anxiously for the egg hunt to begin. - photo by Photo/Michele Hester

Carrying brightly colored baskets and many wearing their Sunday bests, thousands of eager, young treasure hunters covered the grounds at Veterans Memorial Park Saturday in search of golden Easter eggs.

  

Organizers estimate more than 3,500 people attended the annual KARE for Kids egg hunt, which brought the Easter Bunny hopping to the park’s football field to hide more than 15,000 eggs.

  

Volunteers spent the morning helping the Easter Bunny hide the eggs.

  

With the sounding of a fire engine siren promptly at 4 p.m., children as young as a few months to 12 years old rushed the fields to pick up as many eggs as they could fit inside their baskets.

  

In less than five minutes, all the eggs had been found, and the children quickly learned golden eggs contained coupons for prizes such as bikes, CD players, stuffed animals and Easter baskets.

  

KARE for Kids, a local non-profit organization that raises funds to meet the needs of the community’s underprivileged children, provided the prizes and organized the annual egg hunt, which also included complimentary photos with the Easter Bunny and activities for the entire family.

  

“What a great turnout we had this year. There’s easily more than 3,000 people here today,” said KARE for Kids President Calvin Byrd, who thanked the organization’s supporters for their contributions and help in pulling off the event.

  

“We couldn’t do what we do without all our volunteers and all our sponsors,” he said.

  

E-mail Michele Hester at michele@dawsonnews.com.