Egg hunters in the 4-7 age group gather eggs as the starting command is given Saturday morning on Public Square, Wilkes-Barre.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Downtown Wilkes-Barre Business Association hosts 16th annual Easter Egg hunt
Click here to subscribe today or Login.
Caroline Cooper-Rodriguez, 3, of Kingston, carries her basket full of eggs.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Zoey Urivazo, 5, of Wilkes-Barre, adds another egg to her bucket of eggs.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
The Easter Bunny waves to the crowd arriving on Public Square in Wilkes-Barre ahead of the egg hunt.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Quinn Brown, 10, of Wilkes-Barre, helps spread eggs ahead of the start of the hunt.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
Easter Eggs are spread out over Public Square, Wilkes-Barre before the start of Saturday’s hunt.
Fred Adams | For Times Leader
WILKES-BARRE — “Bunny, bunny, bunny!”
That’s the chant that rang through the streets of Downtown Wilkes-Barre on Saturday morning as hundreds of local youth anxiously awaited the arrival of the Easter Bunny to kickstart the Downtown Wilkes-Barre Business Association’s 16th annual Easter Egg hunt.
The event was complete with 7,000 eggs spread across three separate sections on Public Square for ages 3 and under, 4-6, and 7-10.
To sweeten the deal, each participant had the chance to win prizes like stuffed animals, candy, gift baskets, bikes and more if they found an egg with a prize ticket inside.
For many, the egg hunt is a beloved tradition that keeps them coming back year after year. This is certainly the case for Tish Lester and her five-year-old granddaughter, Kairi.
“We came last year and it was great, so that’s what brought us again this year. It really is about the kids, and they love it,” Lester said.
As for Kairi, her eyes were on the prize.
“I want that big pink bike,” she exclaimed while jumping up and down.
While the Lester’s have already marked the egg hunt as an annual tradition, others attended the event for the very first time.
First-timers Abigail and Hector Rojas, of Wilkes-Barre, usually keep their holiday traditions at their grandmother’s house, but this year they’ve decided to expand their Easter celebrations.
“I saw this event on Facebook, and I wanted to bring Hector to see what it’s all about,” said Abigail.
“I hope to come again, because he’s eight, and the age range is only until 10, so he only has two years left to do this. I think it will be a new tradition,” she added.
As children ran back to the prize table with their newly found eggs in hand, most walked away with a new treasure and a big smile on their face.
19-month-old Treyvon “Trey Trey” Torres even won a brand new pair of wheels.
“We came because he wanted to see the Easter Bunny and he ended up winning a bike,” said Treyvon’s mother, Mary Torres.
According to her, Treyvon’s first ever egg hunt was off to a rocky start until the bunny arrived.
“He was really fussy at first until he saw the Easter Bunny, and then that was it. Once he saw the bunny and the eggs, he started going crazy and he loved it,” Torres said.
The Torres family traveled from Parsons to attend the event — which they say is something they don’t see often in their neighborhood.
“It’s a wonderful thing for the children and the adults to come out to the downtown area to see how great it is, and it’s really a wholesome event — everybody is happy,” said William Torres-Diaz.
And, according to Michelle Wisp, Downtown Wilkes-Barre Business Association vice president, that’s just what the event is all about.
“The goal of the Downtown Wilkes-Barre Business Association is really to drive business and people to the downtown area. This event — our biggest — is just one big community event, and it’s so amazing,” Wisp said.
And the turnout was better than expected, she added.
“Every year, we get here to set up at 8 a.m. and it’s just a ghost town here — it’s so quiet. We always wonder if people are going to come, and every year, without a doubt, people flock to the Square, and it’s so great to see it filled with families and little kids having so much fun.”