Easter eggs draw hundreds

Four-year-old Zachary Sifford placed his basket down and started going through the half-dozen plastic eggs he had gathered Saturday.

Some eggs contained candy. Another had a movie pass in it, and yet another had a coupon for french fries.

Sifford and his mother, Angela Brewer of Cape Girardeau, were among the hundreds of people who showed up on a sunny but cold day for the Cape Girardeau Parks and Recreation Department's annual Easter egg hunt at Capaha Park.

The event featured three hunts. Sifford was in the first group, of 3- and 4-year-olds, who had a 10 a.m. start in the hunt, along with the 1- and 2-year-old group. About 300 youngsters participated in the first two groups, before the 5-to-10-year group had its hunt at 11:30 a.m.

The youngsters were waiting and ready when the bunny rabbit -- Erin Hamn -- blew the starting whistle.

"We put out about 2,400 eggs," said Chris Eastridge, a recreation programmer. "We put out about 800 for each age bracket."

In each age bracket, the youngsters scooped up the eggs in five to 10 minutes. The eggs were hidden all over the park from the lagoon to the baseball field and by the basketball court.

Each plastic egg held a prize inside. Some included coupons for special prizes at the park department's booth.

Another big Easter egg hunt was conducted Saturday at Scott City, where the Scott City Parks and Recreation Department sponsored the event at the community park for children under 8.

rowen@semissourian.com

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