Springtime egg hunt a tradition

The sun was sparkling on the plastic grass in the Easter baskets as children ran around the grounds of La Paloma School excited to search for, and find, colorful plastic eggs during an Easter egg hunt hosted by the Fallbrook Community Center.

Terry Clark of National Charity League (NCL) has been involved in the setup and preparation of the event for twelve years.

“It is a tradition for us,” she said. “It is something that we have done for so many years – on Good Friday we fill the eggs and Saturday we do the hunt.”

The team prepared and hid around 2,400 eggs. It took three hours for seven people to fill them, but, with everyone working, it only took about ten minutes to hide the eggs.

This was NCL member Heather King’s first year to participate in the hunt. “It’s been really fun to set the eggs out and be able to see people we haven’t seen in a while,” she said.

The weather was perfect with clear blue skies and a nice breeze. “It’s chamber of commerce weather,” King said with a smile.

Taylor King, an NCL Ticktocker, commented, “It was really fun. I hid the eggs for the ‘four and under’ <age group> and then cleaned up.”

According to Clark, children ‘four and under’ represented the largest group of Easter egg hunters. “The parents are allowed to go in with them,” she said.

During this no-fee community-wide event the children go home with plastic eggs that are filled with jelly beans, M&Ms and small plastic toys.

Children who found coupons in their eggs won Easter baskets and additional prizes.

Gabriella Lopez found two eggs and one had a coupon inside. She was excited about the blue stuffed bunny she was given in exchange for the coupon.

“It was fun finding the eggs,” she said.

Rosie Ayala also enjoyed the hunt and was glad she found four eggs filled with toy ducks and bunnies. Her favorite egg was the camouflage-colored one because it was the first egg she found.

After the hunt the children played various games, among them a game called the egg toss, which was enjoyed by both adults and children. About 30 contestants participated in this year’s toss.

Participants lined up facing their partners, then tossed raw eggs back and forth, taking a step backward after each toss. When the egg was dropped the team was out of the game.

Mariyah Wilson, first place winner of the Easter egg toss with partner Daniel Estorga, has participated in the game three years in a row, placing second last year.

Wilson was excited about winning a certificate to Vince’s Pizza. She attributes her success to “tossing the egg easy.”

Easter egg hunt sponsors were the Fallbrook Firefighters Association, Friends of Fallbrook Community Center, Fallbrook Village Rotary Club, Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce, Major Market, Albertson’s, Yogurt Palace, Subway, National Charity League, La Paloma School, Vince’s Pizza and North County Welding Supply.