Easter Bunny will be busy with activities planned throughout valley

Grab a basket and get ready to hunt some eggs. Organizations, churches and parks are gearing up for an Easter egg hunt-filled weekend across the Las Vegas Valley.

The Church at South Las Vegas, for instance, will have its seventh annual egg hunt following the 5 and 7 p.m. services Saturday on the church property at 3051 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway in Henderson. Last year, the church had three hunts at local high schools, with more than 13,000 people participating.

The Rev. Henry Sneed, who oversees the event, says he and his team begin planning the egg hunt "six to nine months out."

"We are anticipating about 5,000 people this year," Sneed says.

The two hunts will include about 40,000 plastic eggs that have been stuffed with candy and prizes by the church's congregation. Children will be divided into the following age groups: 2 to 4, 5 to 7 and 8 to 12.

This year's event also will feature giveaways of age-appropriate bikes, gift baskets and Nintendo DS systems.

"We will also have the Easter Bunny and Chicken, and Jerome 'Junk Yard Dog' Williams, who did the JYD Project at the City Impact Center," Sneed adds.

Attendees may bring their own baskets; bags will be provided for those who need them, Sneed notes.

The city of Las Vegas will offer a variety of egg hunts at several of its centers through Saturday.

The egg hunts at community centers offer those in nearby neighborhoods a chance to gather for a couple of hours of family fun.

"A lot of the staff at centers have been there long enough to understand the community and have a good idea how to plan the event and what to plan for and for how many," says Deb Massey, the leisure activities coordinator at Stupak Community Center.

"We have a small community center and we know a vast majority of the people," adds Massey.

To plan for her center's hunt, Massey says she looks at the turnout for previous years and "guesstimates" how many to anticipate. This year she expects about 200 to 250 attendees, and the center is hiding almost 3,000 plastic eggs that will be filled with toys or candy.

Instead of an egg hunt, Clark County Parks and Recreation will offer "Bunny Boogie" from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Mountain Crest Park, 4701 N. Durango Drive. Children 10 and younger can collect eggs filled with candy and prizes at booths set up at the event. Ages 1 to 3 can collect eggs at 1 p.m., followed by ages 4 to 6 at 2 p.m. and ages 7 to 10 at 3 p.m. There also will be live entertainment, face-painting, balloon artists and festival rides.

Spring Mountain Ranch State Park will have its second annual egg hunt at 10 a.m. on Easter.

"We had a very good turnout last year with over 300 kids," says ranger Scott Egy.

According to Egy, "well over 100 plastic eggs" will be hidden for this year's hunt, and each egg will be numbered. At the end of the hunt, volunteers will call out numbers for children to collect a prize.

The eggs will not be filled with candy because of nearby wildlife, Egy says, but candy will be on hand during the event.

"Easter Sunday is the park's busiest day of the year," he says, encouraging people to arrive early.

The park, which has a $5 entrance fee per vehicle, will open at 8 a.m. Attendees may bring baskets for the hunt, but bags also will be available for children to color if they don't have a basket.

The following is a list of egg hunts scheduled throughout the valley Friday through Sunday. Attendees should plan on bringing their own baskets for the hunts.

FRIDAY

• Bunny Patch Egg Hunt for ages walking to 12 will be at 10 a.m. at Charleston Heights Community School, 6438 Celeste Ave. (229-4440).

• Hopping Egg Hunt for ages 1 to 11 will be at 10 a.m. at Johnson Community School, 340 Villa Monterey (229-6175).

• Easter egg hunt for ages 3 to 12 will be at 10 a.m. at Rafael Rivera Community Center, 2900 E. Stewart Ave. (229-4600).

• Doolittle Egg Hunt for ages 1 to 10 will be at 4 p.m. at Doolittle Community Center, 1950 N. J St. (229-6374).

• Teen Flashlight Egg Hunt for ages 12 to 15 will be at 8 p.m. at Robison Community School, 4794 Harris Ave. (229-2542).

SATURDAY

• Easter Egg Hunt and Family Festival, featuring the Easter Bunny and Easter egg hunts for ages 1 to 10 every half-hour from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Town Square Park, 6605 Las Vegas Blvd. South (269-5001).

• Word of Life Christian Center will sponsor a free egg hunt for children through sixth grade at 10 a.m. at Bunker Family Park, 7351 W. Alexander Road (645-1990).

• Sammy's Woodfired Pizza, 7160 N. Durango Drive, will have an egg hunt from 2 to 4 p.m. Families will receive a complimentary photo with the Easter Bunny and an egg hunt map to visit neighboring businesses for treats (365-7777).

• Lied Community School egg hunt for ages 2 to 12 will be at 9 a.m. at Children's Memorial Park, 6601 W. Gowan Road (229-5072).

• Easter egg hunt for ages 2 to 8 will be at 10 a.m. at Clark Community School, 3074 Arville St. (229-3686)

• Robison Community School will have an egg hunt for ages 2 to 12 at 10 a.m. at 4794 Harris Ave. (229-2542).

• Egg hunt for ages walking to 8 will be at 11 a.m. at Stupak Community Center 300 W. Boston Ave. (229-2488).

• Egg hunts will follow the 5 and 7 p.m. services at the Church at South Las Vegas, 3051 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway, Henderson (361-1579).

SUNDAY

• Spring Mountain Ranch State Park, about 18 miles west of Las Vegas off Charleston Boulevard, will have an egg hunt for ages 12 and younger at 10 a.m. The park entrance fee is $5 per vehicle (875-4141).

• Trinity United Methodist Church, 6151 W. Charleston Blvd., will have an egg hunt following the 10:30 a.m. service (870-4747).

Contact reporter Madelon Hynes at mrhynes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0306.