Hartselle area youngsters, ranging in age from a few months to 10 years of age, arrived in droves at Sparkman Park on Saturday to participate in the Kiwanis Club’s annual Easter Egg Hunt and take advantage of a free church-sponsored carnival.

It didn’t matter that the event was staged a week earlier than usual to get around the opening of the city’s youth baseball league on Sat., Apr. 7.

Thanks to a sunshine-filled day, the number seemed to be larger than ever.

“We have a very big crowd and as you can see the parking lot is running over,” said Kiwanian Justin Barley, who directed the event. “Had we waited until next Saturday you can imagine what a traffic jam we would’ve had.”

The hunt was divided into four age divisions, 0-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-10, and about 6,000 plastic colored eggs were hidden for the older kids and scattered over a large area easily visible to the younger hunters. Most Easter baskets and other containers were filled within the first 10 minutes of the hunt.

The eggs were exchanged for bags filled with candy treats.

An oversize golden egg was hidden among the eggs in each age division. The finders received a large Easter basket filled with goodies.

Abby Winsett, four, of Hartselle was the first hunter to come up with a golden egg. Following in order were Dakota Phillips, two, of Falkville, Alana McDearmond, nine, of Eva and Ashton Cross, seven, of Danville.

The children were entertained before and after the hunt by free inflatables, balloons and face painting provided by Day Start Church of Hartselle.

A barbecue sandwich and lemonade stand was operated by Wayne Jones, with a portion of the proceeds earmarked for a worthy cause.