EGG-XACTLY!

WASILLA — Young local “yolkels” scampered and squealed while scrambling to fill their Easter baskets on Saturday.

Hundreds of Mat-Su Valley children dashed around the practice turf at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center collecting as many of the 20,000 candy-filled plastic eggs as they could. Along with parents and siblings, the family event was billed by sponsor King’s Chapel as “Alaska’s Biggest Easter Egg Hunt.”

OK, so the kids didn’t really have to hunt for the eggs.

“Nah, not much ‘hunting’ going on,” said Chris Moffitt, a Valley dad who brought his four children to the event. “But that’s all right. It’s all in fun, and they’re certainly excited. It’s something fun for the kids to do, and I like it as a good family event.”

Seven-year-old Tristin Moffitt agreed, but was preoccupied with opening the many pastel plastic eggs as fast as he could.

“It’s awesome,” he said, adding what he thinks Easter stands for. “It’s when we get a whole bunch of candy. The Easter Bunny’s coming tonight.”

On the other side of the field, 3-year-old Ethan Walters methodically picks up each treat-filled container, holds them up to his ear and shakes.

“He knows there’s something in there,” said mom, Lene Walters of Wasilla. “He was excited (when he saw the field covered with thousands of eggs). He wanted to go right away with the first group. When it got to be his turn, he was being selective.”

Beginning at 10 a.m., waves upon waves of children charged onto the field in different age groups. After hoovering up the treats, King’s Chapel volunteers would cart out large boxes filled with thousands more and spread them for the next round.

“Oh, it was great,” proclaimed Morgan Fulmer, 7, a Wasilla resident who was already enjoying the first buzz of a sugar high. “I sure got a lot of them.”

Fulmer said the hunt was “fun, because you get to pick eggs out,” adding that she also decorated Easter eggs at home.

For the folks at King’s Chapel, the annual extravaganza is about recognizing the religious significance of Easter, but also an opportunity for the church to reach out to the Valley community.

“Easter is about symbolizing the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,” said Karen Bracken, wife of the church’s pastor, Daniel Bracken. “We want to make a bridge to our community, and it just makes my heart sing I’m so happy” seeing the joy children get from the event.

Bracken admits the outing isn’t much of a hunt — there are no trees, rocks or bushes to hide eggs around and under. But it takes a small army of volunteers about a week to fill each of the 20,000 plastic eggs with treats.

“Yep, and we stuffed every one of them too, we do it every year,” she said.

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.