Hunting Easter eggs

Several free hunts taking place throughout the Columbia Basin

COLUMBIA BASIN - Thousands of children will be hunting Easter eggs throughout the Columbia Basin this weekend.

There are Easter egg hunts taking place in Ephrata, George, Moses Lake, Othello, Quincy, Soap Lake, Warden and Wilson Creek.

Ephrata

Two Easter egg hunts are happening in Ephrata Saturday.

The first is hosted by the Ephrata Kiwanis Club beginning at 1 p.m. in Lions Park. The free event is open to children in fourth grade and under. All youth hunt for the eggs at the same time.

The second egg hunt is hosted by the City of Ephrata in Lions Park beginning at 8:30 p.m. Saturday. There will be up to 300 eggs and participants are advised to bring a flashlight for the nighttime hunt.

The event is open to grades fifth through 12th. The grades are divided into two groups. Fifth through seventh-graders are in one group and eighth through 12th-graders are in another.

The eggs are filled with candy and tickets. The tickets are redeemable for prizes including hydration packs, footballs and basketballs. Each grade group has a chance to find a special golden egg. The golden egg contains a prize ticket to redeem for an iPod Nano.

George

The Georgettes are hosting an egg hunt at the George City Park Saturday beginning at 9 a.m. The hunt is split up into five age groups. The first age group is for 3 years old and under, ages 3 to 4, ages 5 and 6, ages 7 and 8 and ages 9 and 10. Several eggs contain prizes.

Moses Lake

The Moses Lake Lions Club is hosting the 11th annual Moses Lake Easter Egg Hunt Saturday at noon in McCosh Park with a shotgun start. Children can hunt more than 7,000 hard-boiled eggs and plastic eggs containing candy and prize tickets. The hard-boiled eggs were donated by Willamette Egg Farms and painted by Monroe House residents.

The event is split into five hunting zones separated by age. An assisted zone is available for disabled youth.

The age groups include ages 3 and under with assistance, ages 3 and under with no assistance, ages 4 to 6, ages 7 to 9 and ages 10 to 12.

Prize tickets are redeemable for toys and various Easter baskets.

Youth must bring their own baskets and bags to gather eggs.

Othello

An egg hunt is slated for 10 a.m. in Taggares park where youth can find more than 1,000 plastic eggs. The plastic eggs contain candy and prize tickets. The prizes include live rabbits and Easter baskets. Donations are accepted at the park.

The first 50 youth at the event will receive free Easter baskets.

Quincy

The Quincy Moose Lodge is hosting an egg hunt in East Park at 10 a.m. The event marks the 29th year of the free youth event.

The event is split into five groups. One group includes age 2 and under, ages 3 to 4 years old, age 5 through kindergarten, first-graders and second-graders and the final group is for third-graders and fourth-graders.

The eggs contain candy and prizes.

Soap Lake

Grant County Fire District No. 7 is holding a free egg hunt on the front lawn of McKay Healthcare Saturday at noon. Youth can hunt for 3,000 eggs containing prizes. Residents at the health care facility filled the eggs.

Warden

The Warden Lions Club is hosting an egg hunt at Warden Elementary School Saturday. The hunt begins at 10 a.m. in the school lawn area. Traditionally it is held at the football field but due to a sporting event, the hunt was relocated.

More than 500 eggs are hidden throughout the lawn area. The eggs are a combination of boiled eggs and prize eggs. The prize eggs include tickets for soccer balls, footballs, basketballs and scooters.

Wilson Creek

The Grace Baptist Church is hosting a 12:30 p.m. egg hunt at Wilson Creek Park. The majority of the 300 eggs are plastic containing candy. The free event is open to any age.