Easter egg hunts were huge draws on Saturday Apr. 3 at both Morgan Street Thriftway and the Hiawatha Community Center. The grocery store was stocked with more than 20,000 eggs for hunters young and old and they waited patiently in the cold before the 9:00 AM hunt. At Hiawatha a group of approximately 800 parents and children got to wait (and get organized by age group) in the gym before they were unleashed at 10:00 AM. Still, it was a very cold and windy day and the youngest of the groups had to wait by the tennis courts where their age group was set to search.

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This is an annual event at Hiawatha, going back at least two decades.
Al Mason, rec. attendant at the the center for the past 15 years said, "The youngest ones are set up by the tennis courts, we keep 'em fenced in, and we haven't lost one yet." The various ages were staged all around the center grouped by age and allowed to hunt in specified areas.

The Hiawatha Advisory Council holds their pancake breakfast in February to raise money to purchase the drinks, candy and other goodies that are then bagged up or otherwise secured (often in plastic easter eggs that are re-used) for the annual event.
Lakema Bell, Center director said, "This event is fun, it's family oriented, we like to provide community activities so that we can bring about camaraderie and also to let them know we have other things here besides just special events. It's a great marketing tool for us."

Just after 9, the kids and parents streamed through the doors at Thriftway with what started as huge lines at both doors. The easter bunny met them at the door. The eggs were mixed into other items, some easy to find, others not so much. All the children and parents seemed to be having a good time.