Optimist Park egg hunt excites hundreds of kids

Havre Daily News/Nikki Carlson

While dressed in their Easter best, a couple of girls run to get dyed hard-boiled eggs at the annual Optimist Club Easter Egg Hunt Sunday afternoon at Optimist Park.

Dyeing more than 3,000 eggs and scattering them across Optimist Park took Optimist Club members nearly two hours. It only took the children two minutes to gather them back together in their pastel Easter baskets.

This Easter Sunday, with weather finally befitting of spring, nearly 200 kids gathered at Optimist Park to participate in the annual Easter egg hunt.

Optimist club members have sponsored the hunt for more years than any of them can remember.

"We've been putting it on for at least 30 years, " said Optimist Treasurer Byron Ophus.

Kids hunted for eggs by age groups, 3 and under, 4 to 6 and 7 to 9. Each age-section contained one grand-prize egg guaranteeing the winner a $25 gift certificate from the Havre Chamber of Commerce or a giant stuffed Easter bunny for the younger kids.

Family members appreciated the opportunity to enjoy the holiday.

"Normally I have to work and can't make it" said one of the participating mothers, Denella Long Fox, "but this year I can, so I'm really excited to share the moment with my kids. "

The Optimist Club motto is bringing out the best in kids, "Being a friend of the youth, " explained Ophus. "So everything we do is to get the kids out and involved, and on a nice day outside like today, it doesn't get much better than that. "