Special to ViewB.J. Perez shows off the eggs he gathered at the 2006 Golden Egg Hunt at The Church at South Las Vegas, 3051 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway. The church will host its fifth annual hunt on Saturday.
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For the past two and a half months, members of The Church at South Las Vegas have been busy stuffing candy into at least 100,000 plastic eggs in preparation for the church's fifth annual Golden Egg Hunt on Saturday.
"Some families have laughed and said, 'We're going to take a year off because that's how long it will take our fingers to heal,' " pastor Benny Perez said.
The church will host its free egg hunt, which features more than one million eggs, candy and prizes, at three locations in the south end of the valley.
At 10 a.m., the egg hunt will begin at Coronado High School, 1001 Coronado Center Drive; at noon at Frias Elementary School, 5800 Broken Top Ave.; and wraps up with another hunt at Foothill High School, 800 College Drive.
Each event lasts about an hour and has singing, dancing and relay races. Participants ages 2 to 12 could win prizes provided by KB Toys, Target and Bloomingdales. More than 200 volunteers will sprinkle the football fields with colorful eggs filled with candy and other prizes.
"Right before they actually pick up all the eggs off the field, we share with them what the real meaning of Easter is, which is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ," Perez said.
The field is divided into sections by age group so smaller children will not be trampled by bigger children, Perez said.
Last year, Perez said, 15,000 people attended the event. This year, they expect 25,000 participants. In the end, the event will cost the church anywhere from $40,000 to $50,000.
Perez said the event began five years ago, one year before The Church at South Las Vegas, 3051 W. Horizon Ridge, was created.
"There wasn't really any big Easter egg hunts around the city. We wanted to offer a free Easter egg hunt and invite people to hear the real story about Easter," he said.
Holly Addleman has participated in the event with her daughters, Earnen and Callie, every year. She found out about The Church at South Las Vegas from the first event.
Addleman said that when her daughters, ages 7 and 5, see the field, they are fascinated.
"There are literally thousands of eggs all over the field. It's like nothing you've ever seen before," she said. "Their little blue eyes are as big as half dollars, and they're just mesmerized by them."
Addleman said one of her daughters won a tricycle one year, and each child always gets a "heaping bagful of eggs."
Addleman said it was Perez's wish to have a community event.
"He wants the community to have something that they don't have to worry about how they are going to afford it, (just) knowing there's nothing expected of them except to have fun," she said.
More information can be found at www.thegoldenegghunt.com.
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