15,000 eggs up for grabs at Mooseheart Easter egg hunt

As the scoreboard on the football field ticked down from 10 seconds, parents and children counted aloud before rushing the field to stuff their baskets full of plastic eggs and other goodies at Mooseheart Child City & School's fifth annual Easter egg hunt on Saturday morning.

There were 15,000 eggs sprinkled on the field for four different age groups eight and under, allowing for everyone to have plenty of eggs and other Easter-related items.

"It's probably our quickest event, especially for the size of it," Mooseheart Executive Director Gary Urwiler said. "When those 4,000 children line the football field for the final count to get the eggs, it's quite a sight to see."

Other activities included photos with the Easter Bunny, face painting, crafts and a "bounce house" inside the school's field house. A petting zoo and pony rides were also offered along with a free hot-dog lunch for families.

"I think the Easter egg hunt is a great way for us to open the doors to our campus and give people a chance to get a glimpse of what we have here, and how the Moose fraternity supports what we do," Urwiler said. Maria and Trino Lomeli of Aurora brought their sons, Noah, 3, and Issac, 6 to the event for the second year in a row. She says they came back because the kids had a lot of fun last year and she likes how everything is "super organized" in the different age groups. "They get to ride the ponies and see the Easter Bunny. It's just a good family time."

Liz Springer of North Aurora says she likes to bring her 3½-year-old daughter Allegra to the event because, "We like supporting the organization and it's always a fun time."

Allegra said she likes the hunt because, "There's candy in the eggs and I like to collect them. "

For more information, go to Mooseheart.org.