Most of last week’s heavy spring snow had melted last Saturday afternoon when the Becker Evangelical Free Church hosted its annual Easter Egg Hunt at Becker City Park. Stubborn snow banks forced the event to move to the Becker Community Center last year, but the rising temperatures made it possible for the celebration to take place at the traditional site this year.
Volunteers greeted parents and children as they arrived, signing them up by age group and pointing them towards their assigned hunting areas. Members of the church congregation, visible in their purple jerseys, carried large signs for the age groups they were leading to gather around to hear the retelling of the Easter Story. Each leader and their assistants used small props to tell the story of the Passion of Christ, leading to His death on the Cross and the celebration of the Resurrection.
Once the Lesson had been spoken, the organizers sounded the signal horn and the woods resounded with the delighted cries of the young Easter egg hunters, all clad in winter jackets, hats and boots against the chilly wind and still-damp grounds. The brightly-colored plastic eggs stood out easily against the dark leaves underfoot and the few residual snowdrifts in which they were concealed.
Youngsters attending the event also had a chance to color some Easter-themed pages inside the park building, and to visit the face-painting tables that are also a traditional part of the egg hunt.
