COUNTYWIDE : Egg Hunt Is a Fair Deal for Children

Scooter the Clown was there, as were mascots Blossom and Big Orange.

They--along with a few goats, some sheep and a pregnant pig--were on hand Tuesday morning at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa to thrill children at the fourth annual Orange County Fair Easter Egg Hunt.

About 700 children from 22 Orange County preschools and schools scurried around the fairgrounds Tuesday, scooping up nearly 5,000 plastic eggs stuffed with candies.

“The kids enjoy this very much,” said teacher Zepur Ohannessian of A.G. Agamnassian School in Santa Ana. The private school has taken children to the event for the past three years, she said.

The young hunters, ages 1 to 5, were divided by age and searched in designated areas for eggs. Some carried buckets made from white plastic jugs cut in half and adorned with pink paper rabbit ears.

Finding an egg with paper inside meant that the lucky hunter could win an Easter basket or tickets to the Orange County Fair.

Scooter the Clown, sporting royal blue hair and pink-and-white polka-dotted pantaloons, handed out animals made out of balloons.

Heather Schuber, 5, of Land School in Westminster, was excited that one of Scooter’s animals gave her a “puppy kiss.”

Blossom and Big Orange, the fair’s 1989 and 1992 mascots, were surrounded by children who hugged them, pulled at them, offered them Easter eggs and barraged them with questions.

“Do you talk?” they wanted to know. “Do you like kids?” “Are you real?”

The best part for Talar Hovnanian, 4, of A.G. Agamnassian School, was “when the pig came out.” Many agreed that patting and gazing at a 400-pound pregnant pig, due to give birth April 22, was tops.

All in all, it was a touch-and-feel day.

“They were real enthusiastic,” said Land School bus driver Audrey Fennimore, who waited for her eight students as they visited the Centennial Farm after the hunt. “They especially loved the animals.”

Lynda Conway, community relations coordinator for the fair, said parents and teachers also appreciated the event.

Conway said one teacher told her, “It’s nice to know we can bring the children somewhere where they are safe.”