NEONOW FILE PHOTO
More than 2,200 eggs disappeared in seconds, into the hands, baskets and pockets of a hundred children at the fourth annual Umatilla Chamber of Commerce Easter Egg Hunt.
Chamber officials and volunteers spent about a half hour hiding the filled eggs at McNary Dam’s West Park before the egg hunt, and children located all within a matter of minutes.
“I had buried some in the bark, and they found them all. I even hid some in the tree,” volunteer Craig Simson said. “They’re all gone.”
Volunteers set the stage, and families began arriving at 9:30 a.m. – 30 minutes before the hunt began. They spread out into designated age groups, and seconds before 10 a.m., Chamber Director Karen Hutchinson-Talaski announced the countdown.
At 10 a.m., the ribbons fell, and children rushed for the pastel shapes, clearing the field in less than five minutes.
Tom Denchel Ford donated the funds to purchase the eggs, which were filled with small toys, candy, quarters and temporary tattoos. Six children traded in carrot-shaped eggs with “winner” inside for large Easter gift baskets.
Families were encouraged to “recycle” plastic eggs into a large cardboard box, and, with the help of volunteers, all signs of the egg hunt disappeared from West Park – almost as quickly as the eggs disappeared from the hunt.
“It went really well,” Hutchinson-Talaski said. “It was another successful Easter egg hunt. We’ll be back next year.”
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