WEST LEBANON — The children were divided up by age; 4-year-olds and under headed up to the parking lot of the West Lebanon Congregational Church to get a head start on the church’s first Easter egg hunt.
“You’ll have two minutes before the bigger kids come, so you better run!” Christine Kidd, who played a pivotal role in organizing the event, told the toddling hunters.
The eggs were scattered throughout the parking lot, in the front lawn and all over the parsonage yard.
“I had to jump for one!” said Jameson, 7, of White River Junction, who risked it all for an egg out of reach in a bush.
Jameson guessed he had about 20 eggs in his full basket and thought that if he stuffed the extras in his pockets, he might be able to keep hunting.
The event, spearheaded by various church committees, drew a bigger turnout than organizers expected.
“It was wonderful. This was our first one; we didn’t know whether to expect just 10 people or a hundred,” said Leondra Poirier, a member of the congregation for over 30 years.
Estimates put attendance around 200.
In preparation, Poirier and six other people stuffed 1,700 plastic eggs with candy and small toys.
“It didn’t take too long, to be honest,” Poirier said. “It took us just about an hour.”
While the hunt was the draw, the event was about more than eggs and candy. Before the hunt started, children and their families gathered in the church basement to hear the Rev. Kirsty DePree tell the story of Easter.
DePree ended the story with a flourish, having a child open the final plastic egg from a basket she’d been holding in her hands during the tale of resurrection. To the child’s disappointment, the final egg held no candy.
“Because He has risen! The tomb is empty. And that’s what we’re going to celebrate tomorrow,” said DePree, who had to raise her voice over the sound of excitement over the impending egg hunt.
Then the hunt itself began, and children fanned out, each with their own approach to maximize their haul.
Seven-year-old Lucy, of West Lebanon, thinks she found around 28 eggs.
“My strategy was to just run around,” she said.
Lucy’s brother Ian, 4, hoped there would be coins in the eggs. He was disappointed.
The event also included a jelly bean count, adult and children’s Easter basket raffles, and cornhole. Justine McLaughlin ran a decorating station, where kids took markers and stickers to shelled hard-boiled eggs.
“People can sticker ’em up and then go home and have egg salad for lunch,” McLaughlin said.
At a table in the corner of the parking lot, two church members invited attendees to work on a “Peace Tree” dedicated to the war in Ukraine. Paper doves with messages of support were hung in the tree in front of the church with blue and yellow ribbons — the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
“We’re showing that we care and that our thoughts are with them,” said Sarah Mullen, of Claremont, referring to the people of Ukraine.
“But everyone’s more interested in cornhole,” said Meghan Hicks, of West Lebanon.
The Rev. DePree thought the hunt was a success.
“Our goal was to make sure everyone felt like they got enough eggs,” she said. “And I think that we accomplished that today.”
Frances Mize can be reached at fmize@vnews.com.