Kids find egg-citement at Easter events

Andrew Edwards

Two Easter egg hunts held Saturday had very different flavors.

One could have been timed with a stopwatch, the other was part of

a leisurely nature walk. The first event was held by the side of

Newport Bay, the second, amid Costa Mesa mustard plants.

Aside from the differences, the two events had a key element in

common, both were attended by throngs of children searching for

Easter eggs.

At the earlier event, the Easter Weekend Egg-stravaganza at the

Newport Dunes Waterfront Resort, youngsters scrambled across the sand

in a mad dash for about 4,000 hard-boiled and plastic eggs that had

been strewn across the beach. The jostling and scurrying did not seem

to last much more than one minute.

Many of the children at the egg hunt were vacationing with their

families, but a small group came from the Orange Coast Interfaith

Shelter’s transitional housing program in Costa Mesa.

One of the children from the shelter, 7-year-old Matthew Priest,

almost missed the start of the event.

“I was on the junglegym, and I saw the first line go,” Matthew

said.

Despite the late start, Matthew managed to grab about 20 eggs,

along with a handful of scallop shells.

“The shells you can hear in, and the eggs you can eat,” Matthew

said.

On the other side of Newport-Mesa, another group of children

gathered at Fairview Park for a combination nature walk and egg hunt.

The only problem was, the event drew a larger crowd than planners

expected.

“We were overwhelmed,” said Kim Woods of the Fairview Park Friends

Committee. “I was maybe expecting 20 [people].”

The crowd of children and parents looked to be at least 100

strong, meaning the Easter eggs, actually painted walnuts that could

be redeemed for raffle tickets, were few and far between.

Families followed Fairview Park plan administrator Robert Staples

along a dirt trail, pausing periodically to search for “eggs.” On the

first stop, it was obvious the hunt would be a challenge.

While the children foraged for hidden “eggs” at the first stop,

Staples called out, “Hey kids, did you find any eggs?”

“No,” replied a chorus of parents and children.

One of the successful youngsters was Newport Beach 8-year-old

Anthony Grasso, who found a hidden “egg” “just near a weed.” He only

smiled when asked if he was proud to be one of the first at the event

to find one.

Less happy was 6-year-old Bryn Rivenbark of Costa Mesa, who was

empty-handed at the end of the hunt.

“I was excited, but I didn’t know the eggs were well hidden,” Bryn

said.

This year was the first time an egg hunt had been combined with a

tour of Fairview Park. Staples said any future egg hunts at the park

would have to be done differently.

“Next time, they’ve got to do it separately,” he said.

* ANDREW EDWARDS covers business and the environment. He can be

reached at (714) 966-4624 or by e-mail at andrew.edwards@

latimes.com.