Hundreds participate in Easter egg hunt at Priest Point Park

Olympia’s Priest Point Park hosted hundreds of children on Easter Sunday — and all hunted for a few colored eggs among the thousands distributed across muddy and not-so-muddy fields.

The event? A longtime Easter egg hunt organized by the downtown Olympia Eagles club, also known as Olympia Aerie No. 21. The event was thought to be in its 50th year, organizers said Sunday.

About 850 people participated last year because the weather was so nice, said Eagles member and past president David Rashott. This year’s gathering was close to that, but smaller due to recent rainy weather, he said.

Still, the skies parted in time for the 2 p.m. start. Like previous years, the hunt was divided into four age groups, ranging from 1 to 12.

They also held an Easter egg hunt at noon, in partnership with the nonprofit South Sound Parent to Parent, for children with special needs, he said. That earlier hunt attracted 75-100 children, Rashott said.

New this year was a shuttle service provided by Intercity Transit to help alleviate parking problems. The limited space quickly fills up, which means many participants have to park up to a half-mile in both directions from Priest Point on both sides of East Bay Drive. Rashott said they plan to use the shuttle service for future hunts.

In all, the Eagles distributed 21,000 plastic eggs, some filled with candy, gift certificates, coupons or a “golden” ticket, which qualified that child for a special prize.

Hunter Lund, 12, of Olympia, collected a few Easter eggs on Sunday and then walked home with a laptop computer after one of his eggs led to the grand prize.

“It’s awesome,” said Lund.

So how did they fill 21,000 eggs?

Rashott said the Eagles held a potluck party last Sunday, attended by 40-45 people. It took them three hours to fill all the eggs, he said.

This story was originally published March 27, 2016 at 4:49 PM with the headline "Hundreds participate in Easter egg hunt at Priest Point Park."