Youngsters Find Fun by the Basket at Stanton Easter Egg Hunt

Briana Renee Welch, 3, of Anaheim was certain sure she would find the golden egg at the Easter egg hunt Saturday morning.

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“We were trying to prepare her for the fact that she might not get the egg,” said Dee Hill. And yet, there was Hill, holding the 3-foot stuffed silver bunny her granddaughter had won for finding the prized egg under some dead leaves.

More than 250 children took part in the annual Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by Stanton’s American Legion Post No. 783. The children gleefully hunted for pink, yellow and purple eggs scattered across the Stanton Cultural Arts and Recreation Center lawn. They noisily uncovered leaves and browsed near tree stumps as parents watched and cheered. Those who came across the eggs handed them to their parents or tried stuffing them into their pockets.

Post commander Bill Snyder said the most of the 1,200 eggs came from Alicita Lewis, a former member who donated 80 dozen.

“It took two weeks to organize and in nine minutes it was all over,” said Lahoma Snyder, a post member who coordinated the egg hunt.

Many of the hunt’s participants and their parents marched over to the auditorium for some additional Easter activities.

Xuan Ho, 50, of Anaheim took the day off work to bring his 10-year-old daughter, Huong. “I want her to know more about the culture of America and adjust to American life,” he said, watching her color a picture of a bunny. Ho, whose family arrived from Vietnam two years ago, called the egg hunt was “strange but interesting.”

At a nearby table, Martha Perea had her hands full watching over three nephews, a niece and her son. As they painted bunnies, the five children told one another how many hard-boiled eggs they collected earlier at the hunt.

“That’s good,” Perea said with a laugh. “I can use them for the potato salad later.”