Easter Egg Hunt

Families gathered for an Easter egg hunt in front of the old elementary school in Pea Ridge Saturday, April 8.

Sandy Fletcher of Beta Alpha said it's an annual event, and a typical year sees around 100 children show up to collect eggs.

"We've been doing this for, oh, gosh, I don't even know how far back it goes," Fletcher said, referring to the community tradition that has been held for more than two decades.

The children are shuffled into age groups, she said, and each group starts separately so parents with children of different ages can watch all of them hunt.

And once they're released, they storm the field and start stuffing baskets, bags and pockets. The children have their space picked clean in a matter of minutes.

The colorful, often shiny eggs in question are all plastic, with a prize inside. The prize could be a few bites of candy or, if one is particularly fortunate, a slip of paper that can be redeemed for a larger prize.

Fletcher said volunteers spent roughly 20 to 30 man hours stuffing eggs, and this year she estimated they had 4,000 to 5,000 eggs on the field.

Some families came from neighboring towns, while others were Pea Ridge locals.

Pea Ridge resident Constance Robinson brought her children, Stephanie Robinson, 7, and Nickolas Robinson, 4.

She heard about the event on Facebook, she said, and decided to come check it out.

"That's a lot of eggs," she said, looking over the field dotted with colorful plastic shells. "That's all I can say, that's a lot of eggs. That's going to be a lot of candy."

Her son, Nickolas Robinson, was short on words. When asked if he had any expectations on how many eggs he might pick up, he held up a hand to indicate five.

His sister, however, was more vocal.

"I want the ones that are silver," Stephanie Robinson said. "Cause they have money in them."